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Assassins of the Turquoise Palace
On the evening of September 17, 1992, eight leading members of the Iranian and Kurdish opposition had gathered at a little-known restaurant in Berlin when two darkly-clad men burst through the entrance. Within moments, the roar of a machine gun filled the air. Two rounds of fire and four single shots later, four of the men were dead. One of the survivors of that shooting, along with the widow of one of the victims and a handful of reporters, attorneys, and fellow exiles, began a crusade that would not only pit them against Tehran but against some of the greatest powers in Germany. When an undeterred federal prosecutor, and an endlessly patient chief judge, took over the case, a historic verdict followed which shook both Europe and Iran, and achieved something few could have predicted—justice. Roya Hakakian’s The Assassins of the Turquoise Palace is an incredible book of history and reportage, and an unforgettable narrative of heroism and justice.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2011
33 people are currently reading
621 people want to read
About the author
Roya Hakakian
6 books52 followersRoya Hakakian (Persian: رویا حکاکیان) (born 1966 in Iran) is an Iranian-American poet, journalist and writer living in the United States. A lauded Persian poet turned television producer with programs like 60 Minutes, Roya became well known for her memoir, Journey from the Land of No in 2004 and essays on Iranian issues in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and on NPR. Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008, Roya published Assassins of the Turquoise Palace in 2011, a non-fiction account of the Mykonos restaurant assassinations of Iranian opposition leaders in Berlin.
Roya was a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and serves on the board of Refugees International. Harry Kreisler's Political Awakenings: Conversations with History, highlighted Roya among '20 of the most important activists, academics, and journalists of our generation.'
Roya was a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and serves on the board of Refugees International. Harry Kreisler's Political Awakenings: Conversations with History, highlighted Roya among '20 of the most important activists, academics, and journalists of our generation.'
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 17, 2013
So, I don't know... I feel a bit bad giving the book only 2 stars. I didn't mind reading it. I'm sure it's thoroughly researched and the writing is ok (though possibly not super), and it's a good story it had to tell about the assassination of Iranian dissidents in Berlin in 1992 and subsequent 4-year trial. I think the main problem I had with the book was the way it tried to explore the inner mindset and humanize everyone on one side (the victims, their families and their supporters), while mostly ignoring the motives of the perpetrators or even of any non-supporters. Probably it wouldn't have been possible to get access to the murderers or Iranian government ministers, but one line near the end mentions "the sinister men that snuffed out the lives of the best and brightest of their nation," which seems to sum up the author's agenda to me. Far be it from me to demand moral equivalence, or to defend extra-judicial terrorist killings or the awful Iranian government, but I do note that the US has fully adopted this technique now - just with drones rather than masked men with machine guns. Is it more justified because it's a democratic government carrying out the killings? I'm sure the Iranian government also considered their victims to be a threat to the state. Although I feel very hostile to the Iranian government myself, I still feel myself reacting to the book and not fully trusting it.
October 12, 2011
A tremendous story about the assassination of four men who were all members of an Iranian and Kurdish opposition. They had met for dinner at this restaurant in Berlin back in 1992. For days, they had looked forward to this event. All together, it was eight men. In the middle of the meal, two guys walked in and shot them.
The guessing game began the next day concerning the perpetrators. It didn't take long for the federal prosecutor to suspect the regime of Iran. Since 1980, one year after Khomeini rose to power, he drew up a list of names that he considered to be "enemies of Islam." Five hundred writers, artists, intellectuals, political opponents were being hunted down no matter where in the world.
The eventual trial would be huge and last four years.
The writing is riveting and beautiful at the same time. Author Roya Hakakian is a Persian poet (her previous book, a memoir, was "Journey from the Land of No" which had the most gorgeous, lyrical writing)and from the first page, I was captivated.
The guessing game began the next day concerning the perpetrators. It didn't take long for the federal prosecutor to suspect the regime of Iran. Since 1980, one year after Khomeini rose to power, he drew up a list of names that he considered to be "enemies of Islam." Five hundred writers, artists, intellectuals, political opponents were being hunted down no matter where in the world.
The eventual trial would be huge and last four years.
The writing is riveting and beautiful at the same time. Author Roya Hakakian is a Persian poet (her previous book, a memoir, was "Journey from the Land of No" which had the most gorgeous, lyrical writing)and from the first page, I was captivated.
July 29, 2022
Must read!
January 3, 2023
کتاب درباره قتلعام رستوران میکونوس و متمرکز بر روند دادخواهی، مسیر پرونده، بیش از چهار سال دادگاه و نتیجه غیر منتظره دادگاه است. قتلعام میکونوس با باقی قتلهای برون مرزی جمهوری اسلامی فرق داشت، برخلاف قتل دکتر قاسملو در وین، اینبار واکنشها مطابق انتظار جمهوری اسلامی نبود و دستگاه قضایی آلمان حاضر نشد حقیقت را قربانی منافع اقتصادی رابطه آلمان و ایران کند. اینبار روند طولانی دادخواهی به نتیجهای ورای انتظار بازماندگان میرسد، اسامی آمران در دادگاه آورده میشود، برای علی فلاحیان (وزیر اطلاعات) حکم جلب صادر میشود، روابط سیاسی دچار بحران میشود و در نتیجه ج ا با زبان زور مجبور میشود برای مدتی عملیاتهای برون مرزی را متوقف کند. کتاب یک قهرمان ندارد. شهره، پرویز، حمید، دادستان، خبرنگار، وکلا و قاضی همگی به خاطر وفاداری به حقیقت، صبوری، فداکاری و دادخواهی قهرمانان کتاب بودند. نویسنده نیز به حقیقت وفادار است و سعی در اغراق برای بازگویی این ماجرا نداشته است.عدم اغراق از نقطه قوتهای کتاب است که باعث میشود ارتباط گرفتن و پذیرفتن شخصیتهای کتاب و گفتگوهای درونی آنها برای خواننده سادهتر باشد.
February 12, 2013
One of the best books I've ever read in regards to politics and Iran. The book reads like fiction. Roya is a very talented story teller.
March 9, 2023
This case must have been all over the news in Germany in the 90s, but I have no recollection thereof - not surprising, perhaps, given that I was all of five years old in September 1992, when four members of the Iranian and Kurdish opposition were murdered in a Berlin restaurant. This book tells the story of those murders, the investigation, and the four-year-long trial that followed. Along the way, Roya Hakakian delves into the minds and backgrounds of many of those involves, based on extensive interviews. A compelling, very well written piece of narrative nonfiction.
January 14, 2013
Absolutely amazing book! It really is no surprise that the late and great Christopher Hitchens was a big fan of Roya Hakakian and her new groundbreaking book "Assassins of the Turquoise Palace". This masterpiece by Ms. Hakakian is not just a book, it is lyrical poetry mixed together with a historical account in one of the most important trials of state terror of the latter half of the 20th century. Roya takes us on a journey of the assassinations and lives affected in the state sponsored terror assassination against the Kurdish-Iranian dissidents which took place at the Mykonos restaurant in 1992. Roya takes us on a journey in which one truly feels that they are engulfed in the scene; whether of those Iranians that were assassinated and injured, or the journey of the brave German prosecutor and judge who took on the case despite political pressure to turn a blind eye. This book is vital and important as one better understands the true nature of the state apparatus terror machine constituting the Islamic Republic. And to close, it is important and vital to remember that this is just one story of many assassinations that took place throughout Europe and even continue to this day. I for one hope that Roya in the future embarks on writing about the assassination and beheading of the Iranian satirist and great singer Fereydoun Farokhzad. Roya is truly a remarkable writer as her words and prose are truly poetry in writing! I highly recommend this for EVERYONE and for everyone to share this historical account to all their friends and family.
October 28, 2021
I started reading this book a while ago as my review will show. But for some reason I got distracted and I only read like the very beginning of it. And then recently I thought I should get back to it. I've been looking in books that I hadn't finished reading and I saw this one. It is one I wanted to read but had forgotten about it. So I began reading it again a couple of days ago. And I've finished it now.
This book is about four people, three of them Kurdish, one of them Iranian, assassinated in a restaurant, in Germany, by assassins hired by the Iranian regime. There were a couple of survivors, the story tells about them. But this is the story of bringing to light that the Iranian regime was indeed involved in this and ordered it. I thought the author did a very good job of chronicling this trial, telling about the victims, and their families, and others involved. For anyone interest in history and things like this, I would definitely recommend this book. I learned a lot from it, that foreign governments can wreak a lot of damage in someone else's country. And it amazed me how easily western governments can fall prey to doing exactly what governments that really truly hate them want them to do for money. It's all about money. I knew this before reading this book, but it just brings up more to light. So yes definitely a good book.
This book is about four people, three of them Kurdish, one of them Iranian, assassinated in a restaurant, in Germany, by assassins hired by the Iranian regime. There were a couple of survivors, the story tells about them. But this is the story of bringing to light that the Iranian regime was indeed involved in this and ordered it. I thought the author did a very good job of chronicling this trial, telling about the victims, and their families, and others involved. For anyone interest in history and things like this, I would definitely recommend this book. I learned a lot from it, that foreign governments can wreak a lot of damage in someone else's country. And it amazed me how easily western governments can fall prey to doing exactly what governments that really truly hate them want them to do for money. It's all about money. I knew this before reading this book, but it just brings up more to light. So yes definitely a good book.
July 10, 2012
This book was definitely interesting since I didn't know anything at all about Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, and the persecution of the Kurds. However, I can't say I looked forward to picking it back up each day. It probably would have been a really amazing feature magazine piece, but a lot of the book dragged. The most exciting parts came towards the end when the key trial witnesses were discovered and their back story was revealed. I felt that was much more interesting than the trial itself and all the events leading up to it.
May 1, 2012
This is an amazing, tautly written account of an assassination in Germany of Iranian activists. The story follows the crime then the long trial that follows through the eyes of the various participants. The author is spellbinding - several places I marveled at her prose, but always marveled at her moving the story along. This is a true story but reads like a novel.
October 31, 2011
3.5 stars. Adequately written and interesting. Not questioning the big picture or overall substance of the work, but do wonder about how the author was able to ensure (if she did) the accuracy of quoted conversations and the like.
September 24, 2012
Very well-written, important and frightening book that honors the courage of those who will hopefully inspire bravery in others who are faced with the difficult task of making decisions about right and wrong, justice and injustice in the face of great threats and fears.
March 22, 2012
What an epic story! Nonfiction, incredibly researched, retelling of an assassination of members of opposing Iranian & Kurdish members. So beautifully written (think IN COLD BLOOD). Filled with heroes and villains, a court trial--a mini series designed for Law and Order.
March 7, 2012
A facinating story beautifully written.
July 14, 2012
Intriguing, insightful and mystifying.
June 1, 2022
Assassins of the Turquoise Palace
Roya Hakakian
The subject seemed very interesting to me, after all it put a country in the dock and the writer was a Jewish reporter with an Armenian name, born in Iran, but living in the USA
It all starts with an execution of Iranian Kurdish party leaders who were meeting at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin. The subject could be explored as an investigation, an account of events, a political perspective, but it was nothing like that, but a mixture of each of these topics. For this reason, the text itself is lost in unnecessary descriptions and the plot, which could be contextualized, does not have this type of valorization.
No characters are deeply analyzed, which makes the reader's involvement in the book's narrative difficult. Even from a journalistic point of view, there is a lack of a previous explanation of the political and historical context of the characters. For example, the importance of family ties to the Shia tradition explains why blood ties and legitimate power are so closely related and why it is difficult, at least for some, to accept that someone who is not seyed becomes the supreme guide.
I highlight, however, the effort to organize the book offering at the end: glossary, historical characters and main characters.
Characters
Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr - former president and dissident, opponent of Ayatollah Khomeini's regime (Seyyed-Title for one who is a descendant of Mohammed.through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali,[10]: 31 sons of Muhammad's daughter Fatima and his cousin and son-in-law Ali), being a descendant of the Mohammed project, wears a black turban.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 4th President, during the Attack
Ali Fallahian minister of intelligence and suspected of being one of the masterminds of the attack.
Explanation Note:
Each of the four Pan-Arab colors is believed to represent an Arab Dynasty or Era:
-black was the color of the Prophet Muhammad,
-white was chosen by the Umayyad Caliphate as an evocative symbol of the Battle of Badr,
-green from the Fatimid Caliphate as a symbol of their support for Ali,
-red was the color of the Kharijites' flag, caliphate that defeated Ali
The Kharijites considered that any man, even a slave, could be elected caliph, as long as he had a high moral and religious character, and that it was legitimate to challenge a power considered unjust. For these reasons, they became appealing to Bedouin tribes who felt excluded from the organizational structures of the vast Arab caliphate led by the Umayyads and also to the Maulas: converts to Islam who were not of Arab origin, therefore discriminated against and forced to pay high taxes.
Roya Hakakian
The subject seemed very interesting to me, after all it put a country in the dock and the writer was a Jewish reporter with an Armenian name, born in Iran, but living in the USA
It all starts with an execution of Iranian Kurdish party leaders who were meeting at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin. The subject could be explored as an investigation, an account of events, a political perspective, but it was nothing like that, but a mixture of each of these topics. For this reason, the text itself is lost in unnecessary descriptions and the plot, which could be contextualized, does not have this type of valorization.
No characters are deeply analyzed, which makes the reader's involvement in the book's narrative difficult. Even from a journalistic point of view, there is a lack of a previous explanation of the political and historical context of the characters. For example, the importance of family ties to the Shia tradition explains why blood ties and legitimate power are so closely related and why it is difficult, at least for some, to accept that someone who is not seyed becomes the supreme guide.
I highlight, however, the effort to organize the book offering at the end: glossary, historical characters and main characters.
Characters
Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr - former president and dissident, opponent of Ayatollah Khomeini's regime (Seyyed-Title for one who is a descendant of Mohammed.through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali,[10]: 31 sons of Muhammad's daughter Fatima and his cousin and son-in-law Ali), being a descendant of the Mohammed project, wears a black turban.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 4th President, during the Attack
Ali Fallahian minister of intelligence and suspected of being one of the masterminds of the attack.
Explanation Note:
Each of the four Pan-Arab colors is believed to represent an Arab Dynasty or Era:
-black was the color of the Prophet Muhammad,
-white was chosen by the Umayyad Caliphate as an evocative symbol of the Battle of Badr,
-green from the Fatimid Caliphate as a symbol of their support for Ali,
-red was the color of the Kharijites' flag, caliphate that defeated Ali
The Kharijites considered that any man, even a slave, could be elected caliph, as long as he had a high moral and religious character, and that it was legitimate to challenge a power considered unjust. For these reasons, they became appealing to Bedouin tribes who felt excluded from the organizational structures of the vast Arab caliphate led by the Umayyads and also to the Maulas: converts to Islam who were not of Arab origin, therefore discriminated against and forced to pay high taxes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2019
There is a story that the Ayatollah Khomeini, while a young man, complained to his religious mentor about the unIslamic activities of a university academic. Why not have him killed then? asked his mentor, after which Khomeini fell into a long silence. This story may or may not be true, but what does seem to be proven beyond doubt is that the modern day Republic of Iran has carried out numerous assassinations and attempted assassinations as a foreign policy that must have been originated by Khomeini himself in the early days of the Islamic Republic. Hakakian is excellent at investigating both how the Iran Government engaged in assassination and also how European Governments turned a blind eye to this whenever they could. However, given that Iranian Government officials themselves also get assassinated, I would have preferred it if their point of view, no matter how unpersuasive, could have been given some mention. Still, a very good book overall.
March 22, 2023
Roya Hakakian writes beautifully. Actually I was looking for a book about the assassination attempts on Iranian opposition. As an Iranian who lived through the Revolution of 1979 and knowing the events and assassination of many oppositions, I am amazed by this book. Hakakian show the brutality of event and savagery of Islamic Republic and how some European countries have sold their soul to devil
for economic gain. I highly recommend the book to all, specially those who want to know about Iran. I am recommending it & reading it for my book club.
Roya Hakakian have other books which are as fascinating. When I started reading "Journey From The
Land Of No" I found out that Roya and I were actually neighbors in Tehran.
for economic gain. I highly recommend the book to all, specially those who want to know about Iran. I am recommending it & reading it for my book club.
Roya Hakakian have other books which are as fascinating. When I started reading "Journey From The
Land Of No" I found out that Roya and I were actually neighbors in Tehran.
February 4, 2018
Everyone else in the book club loved this, and thought the writing was fabulous, so maybe I missed something. I thought the writing was clunky -- sometimes awkward, sometimes overly flowery -- I checked to see if it was a translation. I learned something about the Iranian diaspora but that's about it. Even the trial itself -- all the specifics that were quoted as testimony sounded like political haranguing, no real evidence. Based on the outcome, presumably there was evidence, but the story wasn't really compelling as shining a spotlight on the Iranian government's complicity (as compared to Red Notice for example)
March 28, 2020
Iran’s dissenters from the theocracy and its Supreme Rulers are murdered in Berlin, and the German justice system painstakingly investigates and hears testimony. Personalized through the wife and daughter of one of the activists assassinated, the story mostly is told clearly. I wish there was slightly less of the daily courtroom outbursts by the defendants, and more about the history. How why when did moderates make a coalition with the religious leaders ? How why when did that coalition fall apart ? I guess I need to go read a history of that. Justice prevails, and as the author notes, it was western rule of law which won in this case.
February 17, 2021
On September 17, 1992, eight Iranian Kurds sat down for dinner in Germany. Before the meal was over, four were dead from brutal shooting. The survivors, a widow, other exiles, and an undeterred federal prosecutor brought to light a heinous plot out of Tehran that rocked the world.
I vaguely remembered this. This book, though, it’s difficult to imagine that it’s true how well it’s written. It reads like a cross between an historical fiction and a spy novel.
I vaguely remembered this. This book, though, it’s difficult to imagine that it’s true how well it’s written. It reads like a cross between an historical fiction and a spy novel.
March 17, 2020
Informative
This was a very interesting book to read about how the Iranian government was involved in the assassinations. It shed a lot of light on the political aspects.
This was a very interesting book to read about how the Iranian government was involved in the assassinations. It shed a lot of light on the political aspects.
August 8, 2022
3.5 Stars
September 2, 2025
A well researched book. Standing up for justice and doing the right thing may take years. These men did not give up and prevailed.
January 2, 2026
Excellent page-turner of a true story. Didn’t know the story well and now won’t be able to forget it. Highly recommend.
February 19, 2012
There is a spectrum of political assassination from the fanatic inspired by incendiary rhetoric to the targeting of an individual by a governmental agency. ASSASSINS OF THE TURQUOISE PALACE reaches far beyond that spectrum. Most are aware of and were appalled by the fatwa declared against novelist Salman Rushdie in 1988. That highly publicized event was only a small part of a litany of terrorism orchestrated by the highest Iranian political authorities – a reign of terror waged in Paris, London, Washington DC, Vienna, and Berlin. Regular meetings that included the Grand Ayatollah, the president, the foreign minister, the minister of intelligence, and the chief of the Revolutionary Guards targeted names from an official list, and supplied cash, weapons and operatives. This went far beyond “government-sponsored” terror.
Hakkakian's book chronicles the aftermath of the assassination of Sadegh Sharafkandi the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and Noori Dehkordi an activist Kurdish Iranian exile, and two other Kurdish political figures on September 17, 1992 in the Mykonos, a Berlin restaurant owned by another Iranian expatriot. Several stories unfold. First, there is the traumatizing effect on Noori Dehkordi's wife and daughter. A close friend of Noori's, Parviz Dastmalchi, survives the shooting and deals with his conflicted feelings of duty to his dead friend's memory and the trauma of his own near assassination. The German investigation is led by Bruno Jost of the German Federal prosecutor's office. He at first believes the assassination is the result of a violent schism between Kurdish separatist groups. The sizeable ex-patriot community in Berlin reacts with outrage at the government's low profile investigation, and their own growing mistrust of each other as they realize that an insider must have been involved in the assassinations. Officially, the German government is eager to fill the vaccuum left by the American embargo of Iran. To that end it desires a role in affecting the outcome of the investigation – an outcome that excludes investigation of the Iranian government. The role of the media in shaping public opinion is yet another part of the story. Hakakain skillfully modulates these competing viewpoints – the emotionalism of the personally grief-stricken, the procedural details of the German investigation, and the political landscape of Iran and Europe.
I must admit that I was most engaged by the human elements of ASSASSINS. Noori Dehkordi's widow Shohreh receives death threats. Parviz goes into social seclusion, partly because friends are afraid of becoming collateral damage if seen with him. On the occasion of a rare acceptance of a dinner invitation from a friend, Parviz receives a threatening phone call at his friend's home. The German Federal prosecutors also receive death threats. The author, however, wisely refocuses our attention on broader issues. The exodus from Iran did not begin with Khomeini; it began in 1955 with the American sponsored coup which put the Shah in power. By 1992 there were nearly a million expatriates. In the political landscape, however, those numbers were easily dismissed. When the investigation begins to name the government of Iran as a suspect, Jost's superior, Alexander von Stahl, is first reprimanded by the Justice Department, and ultimately fired. Jost receives calls from colleagues admonishing him that his persistence is a bad career move. The German government, like the rest of Europe, wanted hostages released, the safety of their nationals in Iran guaranteed, and lucrative business contracts. “Europe accepted Tehran's math: dozens of dead Iranian exiles equaled one free European citizen.”
This is a significant book. It gives us a glimpse of a lifetime spent in the shadow of terror, and the face of true courage.
Hakkakian's book chronicles the aftermath of the assassination of Sadegh Sharafkandi the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and Noori Dehkordi an activist Kurdish Iranian exile, and two other Kurdish political figures on September 17, 1992 in the Mykonos, a Berlin restaurant owned by another Iranian expatriot. Several stories unfold. First, there is the traumatizing effect on Noori Dehkordi's wife and daughter. A close friend of Noori's, Parviz Dastmalchi, survives the shooting and deals with his conflicted feelings of duty to his dead friend's memory and the trauma of his own near assassination. The German investigation is led by Bruno Jost of the German Federal prosecutor's office. He at first believes the assassination is the result of a violent schism between Kurdish separatist groups. The sizeable ex-patriot community in Berlin reacts with outrage at the government's low profile investigation, and their own growing mistrust of each other as they realize that an insider must have been involved in the assassinations. Officially, the German government is eager to fill the vaccuum left by the American embargo of Iran. To that end it desires a role in affecting the outcome of the investigation – an outcome that excludes investigation of the Iranian government. The role of the media in shaping public opinion is yet another part of the story. Hakakain skillfully modulates these competing viewpoints – the emotionalism of the personally grief-stricken, the procedural details of the German investigation, and the political landscape of Iran and Europe.
I must admit that I was most engaged by the human elements of ASSASSINS. Noori Dehkordi's widow Shohreh receives death threats. Parviz goes into social seclusion, partly because friends are afraid of becoming collateral damage if seen with him. On the occasion of a rare acceptance of a dinner invitation from a friend, Parviz receives a threatening phone call at his friend's home. The German Federal prosecutors also receive death threats. The author, however, wisely refocuses our attention on broader issues. The exodus from Iran did not begin with Khomeini; it began in 1955 with the American sponsored coup which put the Shah in power. By 1992 there were nearly a million expatriates. In the political landscape, however, those numbers were easily dismissed. When the investigation begins to name the government of Iran as a suspect, Jost's superior, Alexander von Stahl, is first reprimanded by the Justice Department, and ultimately fired. Jost receives calls from colleagues admonishing him that his persistence is a bad career move. The German government, like the rest of Europe, wanted hostages released, the safety of their nationals in Iran guaranteed, and lucrative business contracts. “Europe accepted Tehran's math: dozens of dead Iranian exiles equaled one free European citizen.”
This is a significant book. It gives us a glimpse of a lifetime spent in the shadow of terror, and the face of true courage.
May 24, 2016
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
The biggest problem with Assassins of the Turquoise Palace is that I had no idea what it was about. Having been raised in the good ol' US of A, I have been pretty much perpetually inundated with messages of "Iran is bad. Bad bad bad." While I doubt that's true in its entirety--few things ever are--there are a myriad of areas in which it does seem to have merit. For example, the Iranian government's ordering of the killings in this book. That wasn't exactly cool. But what I was left wondering, for the entire book, was why it was ordered in the first place. I think it had something to do with Kurds. I don't know much about Kurds, pretty much just that they're a group of people in the Middle East who don't have a country of their own, much like the Roma, or the Jews before Israel was created, or the Palestinians today. I don't know why the Iranian government wanted these particular Kurds dead. Or were they Kurds? Was that ever said? I think it was mentioned that they supported an independent country for Kurdistan, but just because they supported it doesn't meant they were Kurds themselves.
You might see why this book left me a little confused. Parts of the book also rambled or jumped around a bit too much; I have never seen more pagebreaks in my life, I swear! It made following the multiple characters a little more difficult than I would have liked.
Also, despite the book being entitled Assassins of the Turquoise Palace, very little time is spent talking about the Turquoise Palace, the assassins, or even the assassination. The focus is on the 90's-era trial of the men accused of killing several Iranian activists in Berlin. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me a good trial. I am an avid watcher of Law & Order (but only the episodes with McCoy, because he is a badass in the courtroom) and I take law classes for fun at my university. And I do think that the trial and everything surrounding it was written very well, and was very easy to read; no slogging through legal mumbo-jumbo required. But, if I'm picking up a book called Assassins of the Turquoise Palace, I really do expect the focus to be somewhat on the assassins. I would have liked that story. How did these people get to be killers, anyway? It's entirely possible that book can't be written, because of a dearth of sources or something like that, but I think it would have been a more compelling read. Not that a quest for justice is un-compelling, but... I don't know. It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be, and what it was wasn't enough to make up for that.
One more thing. While the writing is very detailed, which is what makes it so readable, I'm skeptical of how accurate it is. Including dreams and feelings can be done in a nonfiction book through detailed interviews, but that would be very detailed indeed. I'm skeptical if, at times, Hakakian isn't speculating and putting her own words or feelings into the mouths and hearts of the people of the book.
And can we talk about that cover for a second? It doesn't influence my opinion of the book, but man, that is some of the worst photo-editing I've ever seen.
So, lacking some information that made it a bit hard to understand, with a bit of a jumpy structure, it was a hard book to really get into. While its actual topic was well-written, for the most part, it isn't a book I would pick up again.
The biggest problem with Assassins of the Turquoise Palace is that I had no idea what it was about. Having been raised in the good ol' US of A, I have been pretty much perpetually inundated with messages of "Iran is bad. Bad bad bad." While I doubt that's true in its entirety--few things ever are--there are a myriad of areas in which it does seem to have merit. For example, the Iranian government's ordering of the killings in this book. That wasn't exactly cool. But what I was left wondering, for the entire book, was why it was ordered in the first place. I think it had something to do with Kurds. I don't know much about Kurds, pretty much just that they're a group of people in the Middle East who don't have a country of their own, much like the Roma, or the Jews before Israel was created, or the Palestinians today. I don't know why the Iranian government wanted these particular Kurds dead. Or were they Kurds? Was that ever said? I think it was mentioned that they supported an independent country for Kurdistan, but just because they supported it doesn't meant they were Kurds themselves.
You might see why this book left me a little confused. Parts of the book also rambled or jumped around a bit too much; I have never seen more pagebreaks in my life, I swear! It made following the multiple characters a little more difficult than I would have liked.
Also, despite the book being entitled Assassins of the Turquoise Palace, very little time is spent talking about the Turquoise Palace, the assassins, or even the assassination. The focus is on the 90's-era trial of the men accused of killing several Iranian activists in Berlin. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me a good trial. I am an avid watcher of Law & Order (but only the episodes with McCoy, because he is a badass in the courtroom) and I take law classes for fun at my university. And I do think that the trial and everything surrounding it was written very well, and was very easy to read; no slogging through legal mumbo-jumbo required. But, if I'm picking up a book called Assassins of the Turquoise Palace, I really do expect the focus to be somewhat on the assassins. I would have liked that story. How did these people get to be killers, anyway? It's entirely possible that book can't be written, because of a dearth of sources or something like that, but I think it would have been a more compelling read. Not that a quest for justice is un-compelling, but... I don't know. It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be, and what it was wasn't enough to make up for that.
One more thing. While the writing is very detailed, which is what makes it so readable, I'm skeptical of how accurate it is. Including dreams and feelings can be done in a nonfiction book through detailed interviews, but that would be very detailed indeed. I'm skeptical if, at times, Hakakian isn't speculating and putting her own words or feelings into the mouths and hearts of the people of the book.
And can we talk about that cover for a second? It doesn't influence my opinion of the book, but man, that is some of the worst photo-editing I've ever seen.
So, lacking some information that made it a bit hard to understand, with a bit of a jumpy structure, it was a hard book to really get into. While its actual topic was well-written, for the most part, it isn't a book I would pick up again.
February 25, 2017
A must read for anyone who doubts the dangers of the oppressive Iranian regime
December 13, 2013
A story of crime and international intrigue, made all the more compelling because it is true. Roya Hakakian, a poet long before she turned to reporting, writes with beauty and grace as she unveils the account of a political assassination that was ordered by the supreme ruler of Iran and carried out on German soil. What emerges is a work of compelling literary journalism wherein she compassionately recounts the events of a mass shooting that left four dead, its impacts on the survivors and the family of one of its victims, the dogged work of a German prosecutor, the honesty of the presiding judge, and the reactions of Iranian exiles who never doubted where ultimate responsibility for the crime rested. Hakakian even demonstrates compassion for the assassins themselves without ever absolving them of their guilt for their involvement. And she accomplishes all of this in a swift moving, compact book that will leave readers unable to set it down. Not a word is wasted in this remarkably well-composed little volume. If I could give it ten stars I would.
May 19, 2015
A corrupt theocracy which kills in the name of God... who can take them at their word? Ms. Hakakian traces the assassination of Kurdish opposition leaders in the expatriate Iran community in Germany in a book which reads as well as a mystery thriller. More intense however, since this is history and not fiction. It does however bring to thought the dangers of theocratic rule, and of those who feel empowered with self righteousness, and their lack of moral cohesion, their denial of hypocritical postures. It gives pause to the notion that Iran is speaking truth when it says its nuclear program is purely for civil power. Lies and corruption emanate from the pinnacle of state power. All one can hope for is one day the Iranian people will shake off the mullahs and be allowed to rejoin the modern world.
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