The Drum Tower

by Farnoosh Moshiri

The Drum Tower is Farnoosh Moshiri's fourth work of fiction concerned with the deleterious effects of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. This novel, told by a mentally ill, 16-year-old girl, depicts the fall of Drum Tower, the house of a family descended from generations of War Ministers. Rich in characters-Talkhoon, who struggles to control the winds she hears inside her head and who tells the story; Assad, a man made evil by his love for her; Anvar Angha, Talkhoon's grandfather who has devoted his life to writing a book about the Simorgh (the mythical bird of knowledge; the Persian Phoenix) but never completes it; Soraya, Talkhoon's mother, whom we never meet but about whom myriad and contradictory stories abound-and rich in family secrets, this novel chronicles the early days of the revolution, the ruthlessness and opportunism of the competing factions, the rise of the Revolutionary Guard, the chaos and murder in the streets of Tehran, the arrests and executions, as experienced by the members of this family. The Drum Tower may be compared, favorably, to Gone with the Wind. It has already won two Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Fiction Awards and a Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction. It has been licensed to the United Kingdom's Sandstone Press which will publish the British Commonwealth edition simultaneous with the Black Heron Press edition.

Genres: Iran, Fiction, Historical Fiction

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2014

About the author

Iranian born writer Farnoosh Moshiri has published plays, short stories, and translations in Iranian literary magazines before the 1979 revolution and in anthologies published outside Iran in the 1980s. In 1983, she fled her country after a massive arrest of secular intellectuals, feminists, and political activists. She lived in refugee camps of Afghanistan and India for four years before emigrating to the U.S. in 1987.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during the Iranian Revolution, this novel tells the story of an aristocratic family in decline. The writing style, character development, and descriptions of the setting are all very good. the plot also moves along. However, the author includes a lot of material from Iranian literature and mythology, which is a little difficult to understand for the reader who is not already familiar with this genre. Also, the narrator of the novel is a young woman who seems to have mental problems, which made it hard to get into at first, because it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake from her narration.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot easier to read than I was expecting, I thought it might be a slog through exquisite intense descriptions. It wasn't.

A story about a girl with 'winds in her head', war, family, history and terrible decisions. I'm still not certain if I liked this book. It certainly gave me lots to think about and however you interpret the ending (truth, madness, dreaming, death?!) it is memorable.

[Helen Castle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Tehran on the brink of revolution, the intriguing, eccentric cast of characters and family relationships make this compelling reading. It is the characters rather than the plot that run the show. The storyline unravels raggedly with an inconsistent pace. Having taken the main character on a long journey, and dedicated much of the latter part of the book to it, we're catapulted back into Tehran for not a wholly convincing finale.

[Tyler Hixson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really dislike when you have interesting characters and beautiful prose, but a story that doesn't really go anywhere.

A more patient reader than me would probably enjoy this a lot.

[Rix · Rating 5 out of 5]

God imagine just...writing a book like this. Imagine being that kind of genius. My little summary above is about as concisely as I can describe this book but it's scope is sprawling and it's prose is beautiful. The dread of it all, the quiet rage. I can't think of the last time I hated a character as much as I despite Uncle Assad. Just gobsmackingly good. Big recommendation from me

[Matilda Hadcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great story, perfect for holiday reading/ to speed through on a journey. Wasn't totally convinced by some of the characters, and not sure the plot was fully developed. Still, an enjoyable excursion into the fantasies of a troubled mind in a troubled city.

[Ximena Mcintosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked most of this book but toward the end, it was rushed and then it just endeded. Pum.

[Behrooz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Not great.

[Anne Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seventeen-year-old Talkhoon (meaning tarragon or bitter blood) lives in the basement of a crumbling property known as Drum Tower in Tehran. The Shah’s rule is collapsing and revolution is around the corner but Talkhoon, sequestered from the world since an undiagnosed psychosomatic illness some years before, has enough to contend with in a confused and conflicted family. Abandoned by her mother at three days old, visited intermittently by her fugitive father, she’s been brought up by her disturbing uncle Asaad, in a house also occupied by her sister, grandparents and numerous ghosts. Having dedicated his life to an as yet uncompleted tome on the mythology of the Simorgh, or Firebird, her beloved grandfather seems to have slipped into a coma, while her increasingly bitter grandmother stomps around the house or sits upstairs among the ghosts communing with her own dead father, the General. Seemingly oblivious to the madness in their home, Talkhoon’s elder sister, Taara, continues her schooling, plays her setar and goes looking for romance. As dissent mounts both in the household and in the city at large, Talkhoon discovers that she must overcome her mental health problems in order to escape the confines of her life. But Asaad has designs on her, and it’s only his increasing religiosity and disavowal of sex outside marriage, that protects her. But for how long?
Full review http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdo...

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing story!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow that was the saddest story ever

[Juliet O'callaghan]

Check out my review on booktube, alongside five other books I recently predicted would be a 5* read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PEXG...