They Said They Wanted Revolution: A Memoir of My Parents

by Neda Toloui-Semnani

In They Said They Wanted Revolution, Neda Semnani tells the story of her parent —their love, the revolution they hoped would dismantle Iran’s monarchy, and Neda’s father’s death by execution at the hands of the Iranian state, which forced Neda’s mother to flee Iran for California in 1982, with Neda and her unborn brother in tow as they smuggled themselves through the desert to safety. Though Neda grew up far from Iran and the revolution, she felt its undertow, suffering from PTSD and longing for her missing father. Eventually, she realized that in order to move forward, she needed to face the past head-on.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Iran, Biography, Middle East, Politics

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2021

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the 1960s I had some Iranian classmates in college, and in the years since whenever their country was in the news I have often wondered what happen to them—particularly when the Shah was replaced with Khomeini. During the anti Shah demonstrations of the 1970s I wondered how confident the demonstrators were that the Shah was going be replaced with something better. (I had the same foreboding during the Arab Spring years later.)

This book caught my attention because the author is telling the story of her parents who were Iranian students involved with anti-Shah demonstrations in America during the 1970s. It turns out that the author's parents were my age, and perhaps their story could provide some possible insight into what life may have been like for the Iranian classmates of my college years.

The author's parents optimistically returned to Iran after the Shah was deposed, but her father ended up being arrested and executed by the new Iranian government for being associated with the wrong political group. Her mother was also wanted for her political associations as well, so consequently she was force to make a harrowing escape from the country along with her daughter, the author, who was two years old at the time.

This book confirms my memory that there were many Iranian students in American colleges during those years.

Throughout the 1960s, Iranians had been coming to attend American colleges and universities at an extraordinary rate. In the middle 1950s there were only a few hundred but by 1979, there were just over fifty-one thousand Iranian students studying across the United States—at the time it was by far the largest group of foreign students studying in the States. In Iran, there was sort of cachet connected with being able to send a child to the United States for school. It didn't really matter what school. A student visa came easily if a family could pay for it. It was a way of showing off a family's wealth and clout. (p.62)

Unfortunately (for the Shah) the students also learned from the anti Vietnam War demonstrations that were then happening, and it didn't take them long to use similar tactics to call for the downfall of the Shah. Their demonstrations were against the United States government's support for the Shah.

As I mentioned earlier the author's parents returned to Iran in 1979 after the Shah left the country. They were part of a leftest political group, and as I suspected their welcome in Iran wasn't what they expected.

Then, once Khomeini and his allies started to consolidate influence, what my mother had thought might be an exuberant new Iran was over. By the time I was born, in October 1979, Khomeini and his inner circle had locked down power and arrests, executions, and torture were daily occurrences. (p.114)

The book contains a portion of the transcript from the trial of the author's father.

The book's title indicates that it's a memoir of her parents. It is that, but it is also a memoir of the author herself as she tries to learn as much as possible about her parents in preparation for writing this book. One of things the reader of the book learns about the author is that all her life she's been obsessive about feeling the presence of the spirit of her father. Her mother has referred to it as a haunting. The final part of the book is made up of excerpts from the author's diary and letters to and from her mother. Her mother died in 2010.

In the early 2000s the author visited Iran as an adult in order to visit relatives and locations of family history. Considering her family's history with the Iranian government I was surprised she was willing to make such a visit. She was asked by officials upon her entry if she had ever illegally left the country. She replied that she had, when she was two years old. Presumably, it would have been more of a problem had she left illegally at an older age.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read intermixing past and present with the challenges that both the writer and her family had to overcome. This book put a lot of insight into what was going on in Iran, the countries nearby and the United States. At times, I had to lookup words and phrases to better understand the author’s perspective, but it didn’t deter from the story, it enhanced my experience as the reader.

[agata · Rating 4 out of 5]

They Said They Wanted Revolution is a memoir written by Neda Toloui-Semnani, an author and journalist, and a daughter of Iranian revolutionaries and activists. Toloui-Semnani’s father was executed by the Iranian state, which promoted her mother to flee with her family to the US in 1982, while she was 7 months pregnant.

It’s a quick read that merges a lot of information about Toloui-Semnani’s parents and how they got to the point of being prosecuted by the state and the fallout. It’s a story about grief, loss, overcoming the worst hardships, but also about rediscovering the past, understanding the choices our loved ones make, and trying to move on without forgetting. I did find some parts denser because of how big of a part the history and the politics of Iran play, but it was truly a fascinating glimpse into a country I admit I don’t know much about. I found it also very moving and personal, and filled with love and longing for Toloui-Semnani’s family.

TLDR: They Said They Wanted Revolution is a beautiful, lyrical memoir in which the author tries to understand and make peace with her parents’ beliefs and choices.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories, interview transcripts, official trial notes, journal entries and research come together to tell a story both deeply personal and historically and politically relevant.

I really enjoyed feeling I was joining the author on a journey as she tried to piece everything together - even the contradictions - to make sense of her family history.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

ooof

This is a very good, very necessary look at the cost of fighting for change- one that comes even when the change is necessary, when it enriches, improves, and even saves lives.

I’m going to be thinking about this one for a long time.

[HattieB · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpectedly emotional read, and beautifully written.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book from Amazon first reads for January 2022. I am so glad that I did. The writer exposed her feelings and desire to understand her parents' past as revolutionaries in every passage. Her research skills as a journalist are excellent and her ability to get family and friends to discuss painful memories is extraordinary. I have never been able to get my own family members to discuss anything that they found distasteful about the past.

I was a graduate student at The Ohio State University during the Carter administration. I remember avoiding the area where Iranian students were protesting daily as I pursued my own studies. I wasn't sure what they were trying to accomplish, and I was so excited about my own journey there. I was unaware of the United States' involvement with Iran and the Shah at that time. I remember hating the Ayatollah Khomeini after the Iranian Hostage Crisis began. I am so very grateful to Neda Toloui-Semnani for giving me some clarity about what was really going on. I almost wish that I had been a consumer of news at that time so that I would have memories of some of the earlier demonstrations and protests that she documents. I remember students being chased, threatened, and terrorized for simply being mistaken as Iranian off campus. The incident I remember most was of an acquaintance from South America. The United States was blind with hatred for Iran at that time.

I became interested in reading personal accounts of revolutions and particularly the Iranian Revolution after reading Azar Nafisi's book "Reading Lolita in Tehran." That book truly upended my perspective on revolutions as I realized that disparate groups band together to defeat a common enemy, but frequently the outcome is not what they fought for. We see this with Neda's parents who wanted only good and an end to despotic rule and US imperialism for Iran. They were so courageous and idealistic. It seems that the most brutal and ruthless of the allied groups step in and kill or imprison the others. Leaders misrepresent their true purposes. My heart breaks for those who sacrificed their lives and for those who loved them. I can only wonder if the final statements of Neda's father were the result of all the torture that he had endured, or if they were made in the hope that he would be released for making them. There is so much that can be said about the current Iranian government, but I don't want to take up the space here. All I will say is, "Free Nazanin!"

I have known two Iranian families living in the United States who showed me how intelligent, educated, and kind Iranians can be. I am forever grateful for having gotten to know them. I am also grateful to students from other countries, particularly Cuba, who shared their families' stories of revolution that ended badly and with survivors in exile. All have been very careful and to my knowledge tried to avoid politics completely at the time that I knew them.

I know people who are members of the American Party of Labor and the Democratic Socialists of America. They are small peaceful groups who communicate online sharing news, discussing readings, and supporting the Labor Unions. I am not afraid of any of them. Like the author, I am afraid of the white nationalist groups, especially after January 6, 2021.

Read this book that Neda Toloui-Semnani has poured her heart and soul into as she searched for understanding of the father that she lost as a small child and the mother who raised her in America.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

There may have been a good story in here somewhere, but unfortunately, the narcissistic, juvenile, hypocritical writing of the author didn't provide one.

The author writes about her love for her father "murdered" by the Islamic regime in Iran and makes a plea for understanding others. Sadly, her father was a Marxist terrorist who got himself executed in the maelstrom he helped unleash in Iran killing tens of thousand innocent people. He was brave and good. Those with whom he disagreed were racist, imperialist, or Communist right deviants. So much for understanding the views of others.

The family was clearly from the aristocracy of the old regime which many hated. Many came to America and several judged it as a racist, criminal society while enjoying its freedom and benefits. The hypocrisy and self-delusion is nauseating. Interesting Iran did not outlaw slavery until 1928, and there is considerable prejudice racism against the Black Iranians.

The two stars were for the insight into how a such a superior self-absorbed, progressive woman thinks.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Iranian foreign exchange student who stayed with our family in 68-70ish kept coming up in my thoughts while reading this. I was about 10 yrs old then and didn't have a clue what life was like for him or what his personal story was. I would love to know. This author shared some history, struggles, losses, emotions, and strength of her and her family. I thought it was a great read.

[Jessica Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunning memoir. So heartfelt and gripping. Incredibly poignant for our current time in this country. Highly recommend.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free from First Reads | The author is too concerned with how she tells the stories, and not concerned enough about just telling the stories | Half of my household is Iranian, and more than half my family, the vast majority of those people having been born in Iran. So you can imagine I would find the subject compelling. Except it seemed as if the author wrote while dreaming about the future reviews that would laud her use of metaphor and language to create an atmosphere of melancholy separation. Which it does not. She breaks off constantly to muse about random things--school shootings, the population center of the US, imagined thoughts people she never met might have had on imagined journeys that would have happened 100+ years ago--and then ends the chapter and jumps to a different time without resolving whatever she was discussing before the digression. So much unnecessary musing. She went to Missouri years before the book was published, and looked at a house her father had lived in for a short time more than 50 years prior, from the outside, because nobody was home. Ok? And?
I just wanted her to sit down and tell her story, instead of getting all bound up in the angst of it. She probably should have left it to someone who had a little distance from it to tell.

[Kay M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behind the Headlines

This is a story of revolution, one successful and some not. I remember the summer of love, riots in the cities, student demonstrations and the results, burning draft cards and returning Vietnam veterans. I lived in Mexico when the cancer ridden Shah of Iran was there having fled his homeland.

Reading about the author's Iranian parents living in the US as students and working toward replacing the Shah in an incredibly organized way even though most had to be done in secret for their own and their families protection, gave me an intimate view of history very different from my own Midwestern upbringing. Her parents story is happy exuberant and tragic yet filled with hope and love.

I liked that the last section was very personal and subjective from the author's life. Kudos for a history told from a personal perspective in a fresh and unusual way.

[Maddie Gegg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this was a disappointing read because there is such a powerful story to be told here but the way it was written really bothered me. I have read other books that have jumped back and forth in time and location before and liked it but the way this book did it just seemed choppy and didn't make a lot of sense. Still a worthy read especially in light of the current uprisings in Iran, the structure just wasn't for me.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my quest to read a book written by an author from every country in the world. The author of this book is from Iran.

Neda Toloui-Semnani is an Iranian who tells the story of her parents and the parts they played in the Iranian revolution, which is also called the Islamic Revolution. This was an uprising in Iran in 1978–79 that resulted in the toppling of the monarchy on February 11, 1979, and led to the establishment of an Islamic republic.

Neda's parents were both from Iran and they met each other in California when they were in college. They were part of many Iranian organizations, so many that it was often difficult for me to keep them straight. At one point, they moved back to Iran to help strengthen the revolution. It was at this point that Neda's father was captured by the govt and put in prison. Neda, her mother, and other relatives made a dangerous and treacherous escape from Iran to Turkey. They eventually made it to the US.

Once in the US, the family learned that Neda's father was put to trial and then executed. Neda struggles throughout her life, trying to understand how her father could put his country ahead of his family. She spends many years going through documents, news coverage, and interviewing Americans and Iranians to learn the story of her parents. She has put together an amazing chronological story of her parents' lives, from when they met to each of their deaths.

[Jill Dobbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable story of one woman's attempt to know and understand her father. The author and her family were Iranians who lived in the U.S. Her father and mother became involved in organizations to bring down the Shah of Iran. Her family eventually returned to Iran, where her father was imprisoned and ultimately murdered. While only three years old, the author, her pregnant mother, and other family members were smuggled out of Iran, saving their lives.

Toloui-Semnani writes about the history of Iran with the U.S., Iraq, and Turkey. She acknowledges the government's vast wealth and human rights abuses while detailing the activities her parents were involved in. Trying to understand the man that her father was and what he stood for was her main reason for writing the book. Through her research and what she was told by those who knew him, she forgave him and made peace with his death.

An honest, emotional, and factual read that is part diary entries, part historical, and part memoir.

[AA · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Didn’t really enjoy the diary/email extract section felt disjointed with the rest of the book and just not my cup of tea but the rest I did enjoy. A unique insight into Iran’s history and the legacy of revolution.

Updating review based on conversation with a friend: I enjoyed the book for its exploration of how children of radical and revolutionary figures live with and understand their parents actions and legacy both in the wider political context but also within the borders of their own family unit. I think it’s an interesting aspect to inspect, all children will have a realisation that their parents are human and once had/still have a life outside of the role of parent but when that life puts your parent at risk of social inclusion, (self)exile, imprisonment, or even execution how do you square their political activity and what drives that with the fact that they knowingly have put themselves at risk. While you do learn about the history of Iran it is important to note that this book is not meant to be a history of Iran it is a personal and family history and one woman’s exploration of how or if she can even understand her parents decision given the personal impact it has had on her.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Iranian students who filled the community college where I worked in the mid-1970s have haunted me since the 1979 Hostage Crisis. One day they filled classrooms and courtyards; overnight, they disappeared. I didn't meet many, but those who spoke to me were consumed by their anti-Shah concerns. This is a memoir of two people, Toloui-Semnani's parents, caught up in 20th-century Iranian history. Like many revolutions, the most ruthless take power and declare former allies their enemies. In this memoir, Toloui-Semnani delves into both family, Iranian and U.S. history to learn the reasons for her father's conflicting loyalties, arrest, and execution, as well as her mother's harrowing flight into exile while pregnant and accompanied by the child Neda.

[paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. The amount of research that has been put into this book is incredible. I'm debating between 4 and 5 stars, just because the book is veeery journalistic. Not in a bad way at all, and, I mean, Neda TS is a journalist, so it makes sense; it's just not what I like and am used to. She mixes reporting with writing, though, which means as a reader you jump between an excerpt from a trial and an almost poetic depiction of the author's feelings. Either way, I finally have a sense of what went down in Iran in the past 40-50ish years, so I'd definitely recommend!!

[Jillian Coffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is both thought provoking and beautiful. the author talks through her family’s history and life while also detailing the history and socio political system in which they exist. really loved the story telling and how much i learned about a history the US education system conveniently ignores.

[Lance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book couldn’t keep my interest and was stopped at about 25 percent. I understand how the author is trying to honor her parents but it all was very uninspiring to me.

[julia rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

truly an incredible read! well-written, contemplative, and engaging. bravo!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting memoir about the author’s search for information about her father who was killed when she was a child. She also tells the story about how her parents met, came together, made the decisions they made, and how all of that shaped her life.

[Bilqees (thebellekeys) · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite nonfic so far for 2022: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfyl7cLAp...

[dr. tom clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

The sections describing the family's escape from Iran are gripping and well told. Sadly most of the text revolves around the writer's experiences and emotions She shows little insight into the impact of the theocracy on women's rights especially for those who were not privileged to have the money to facilitate an escape to the USA or Spain.

[Sera Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Before we even get started reading, the author's note explains that the book is a mix of memoir, historical fiction, interviews and years of research. In reading this book, the love the author shares for her parents really comes through. I really enjoyed reading Parts 1 &2. The parts about the US protesters and Iran's history was interesting. I also liked the description of the family members escaping Iran to Turkey. It was well written and riveting. I couldn't put the book down during this part of the story and I really felt for them during their journey.

However, when we get to Part 3 which is made up of letters and diary entries, the momentum of the book comes to a slow crawl for me. I do not enjoy books made up of letters and diaries. So, I knew that this would be a tough section for me to get through. I wish that the author would have just summed this all up in her own words like the rest of the book.

I really like memoirs and I would still recommend this one for the look we get with the Iranian protests here in the US, the bit of Iranian history and her father's day in court that is also included. I felt that those parts of the story (2/3 of the book) was very interesting.

[Balroop Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book drew my attention from the list of Amazon first reads, as it sounded historical. I thought the story of revolutionaries must be interesting but it is just a compilation of events and personal stories of Neda. It lacks coherence in the beginning; the style of writing is disoriented and the way it jumps from one timeline to another hampers the flow of various stories, which she is trying to knit together. It is midway through the book that she gets the knack of telling the story of her parents’ life and the reader feels connected.

Some chapters about her family’s escape from Iran are well written, relationships have been emotionally portrayed but details about the revolution are sketchy and the diary entries sound superfluous. They don’t enhance the value of the so-called memoir.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book...but the writing was just all over the place. I felt like she wanted to cover all this stuff and just shoe horned it all in there instead of creating a smooth narrative. I started to read the book thinking based on the introduction that she was going to talk about how her parents experience and her experience influenced her feelings of current events but thst never happened? The historical information was interesting and helpful but it was not incorporated smoothly... It felt like each chapter had multiple different writers and points as opposed to one cohesive story.

[Linda Herman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am wondering why the author wrote this book...does she see her parents as hero's. Does she have some romantic vision of these two young people who fought to displace one despot for another who was even worse. Who took their young child to a dangerous country where her father was murdered? These two like many others were not thinking and really had no idea of what they were doing. Mostly I am appalled by this story.

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m so sorry I read this book, depressing with no redemption. Oh yes, Nedas mother rebuilt a life after the horrors of the revolution in Iran, but it didn’t feel like Nedra could appreciate that. She also couldn’t appreciate everything America did for her. If only Iran had become communist rather than Islamic.