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The Moving Prison
The year is 1979 and Ezra Solaiman and his family are trapped in a country in turmoil. Their homeland is increasingly ruled by Islamic fundamentalists who are becoming a law unto themselves. The Solaimans plan their escape only to have Ezra captured and imprisoned on trumped-up charges. Unsure just who his enemies are, Ezra is desperate for a way out—out of prison, out of Iran, out of the chaos his life has become. The Moving Prison is a riveting tale of revolution and revelation, of failure ... and faith.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 21, 2013
The Moving Prison by William Mirza
Flashback to the Iranian hostage crisis. Remember all those yellow ribbons around trees. I sure do. The Moving Prison’s title comes from the words of one of the character’s mother’s who detests the Chadri or total body covering required in some Islamic tradition. She refers to the outfit as a moving prison, shadowing her dislike of the restrictions imposed by the religious leaders of Iran.
The story centers around one proud Jewish Iranian family and the turmoil brought into their obsequious though contented life by the departure of the Shah of Iran. Spotless prose leads the main character through a discouraging serious of events, including a near miss with execution by an arbitrary ‘kangaroo court’.
In an ironic twist, the protagonist’s humanity and generosity spawns an unexpected reality. Throughout his life Ezra helps a poor Mullah by giving him medicine for his sick wife. The Mullah never forgets his repeated acts of generosity and acts in Ezra’s time of desperation to allow the family to flee the oppression of the newly formed religious state.
The book kept me reading and delivered in many ways but ended, leaving me in the ‘lurch’. I need some development or closure in the last section. It did not happen.
Flashback to the Iranian hostage crisis. Remember all those yellow ribbons around trees. I sure do. The Moving Prison’s title comes from the words of one of the character’s mother’s who detests the Chadri or total body covering required in some Islamic tradition. She refers to the outfit as a moving prison, shadowing her dislike of the restrictions imposed by the religious leaders of Iran.
The story centers around one proud Jewish Iranian family and the turmoil brought into their obsequious though contented life by the departure of the Shah of Iran. Spotless prose leads the main character through a discouraging serious of events, including a near miss with execution by an arbitrary ‘kangaroo court’.
In an ironic twist, the protagonist’s humanity and generosity spawns an unexpected reality. Throughout his life Ezra helps a poor Mullah by giving him medicine for his sick wife. The Mullah never forgets his repeated acts of generosity and acts in Ezra’s time of desperation to allow the family to flee the oppression of the newly formed religious state.
The book kept me reading and delivered in many ways but ended, leaving me in the ‘lurch’. I need some development or closure in the last section. It did not happen.
January 30, 2013
Wow!! This book was in your face intense! I did not see where it was going from where it started!
It follows the slow desperate destruction of one family as the regimes change and as Jews they are now marked people and have to get out of the country as fast and quiet as they can!
The Dad/Husband starts doing everything necessary he can and needs to do. But in trying to protect his family...He doesn't talk to them and so they keep finding out after the fact that he has made all these huge, life changing plans without them even knowing!
A heartbreaking book!
It follows the slow desperate destruction of one family as the regimes change and as Jews they are now marked people and have to get out of the country as fast and quiet as they can!
The Dad/Husband starts doing everything necessary he can and needs to do. But in trying to protect his family...He doesn't talk to them and so they keep finding out after the fact that he has made all these huge, life changing plans without them even knowing!
A heartbreaking book!
April 15, 2013
Entertaining and thought-provoking, this novel is set in Iran at the beginning of the Revolution. The characters include an assortment of people with different views. All of the characters were changed by the Revolution, and the book really shows how devastating was is, especially when friends become foes and no one knows who to trust.
March 13, 2015
Great book
Very engaging and wonderful. It was so sad, showing the frailty of a person against a tidal wave of oppression. I didn't like the loose ending. I like things wrapped up, but this leaves it for your imagination to figure out.
Very engaging and wonderful. It was so sad, showing the frailty of a person against a tidal wave of oppression. I didn't like the loose ending. I like things wrapped up, but this leaves it for your imagination to figure out.
October 21, 2011
I *think* I read this, about 12 years ago. Don't remember anything but the cover, though, so...
March 12, 2013
Fascinating Jewish family"s ordeal when Shah of Iran leaves Iran.
March 22, 2013
Good book kept me interested throughout the entire book.
May 17, 2014
Great read. It was very exciting, and the idea of the hijab being a "moving prison" - hiding things and people as well as revealing them - was effective.
January 8, 2015
This was really good until the Epilogue.
March 8, 2016
Suspenseful
Wonderful book. Lot's of mystery an intrigue. Hope to find more books by the author's of this book. Thank you
Wonderful book. Lot's of mystery an intrigue. Hope to find more books by the author's of this book. Thank you
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews