Abdi Nazemian: Only this beautiful moment

Only This Beautiful Moment.
Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins Publishers 2023.

German Edition: Nur dieser eine Augenblick.

Aus dem amerikanischen Englisch von Isabel Abedi und Meritxell Piel.
Arctis / Atrium Verlag AG 2024.
 

Before Mahmoud, or Moud for short, travels to Iran in 2019, he deletes all references to gayness from his social media accounts. The teenager “de-gays” himself – and to him it feels as if he were exterminating his past. Moud flies with his father Saeed from Los Angeles to Teheran, where is grandfather is on his deathbed. This is the first trip Saeed has taken to the land of his birth, from which he had to flee overnight during the Iranian Revolution, after taking part in protests against the new government. After that Saeed lived in the USA with his aloof American grandmother. She had concealed the homosexuality of her son, Bobby, in order to push him to pursue a career in the film business. In long overdue conversations Moud realizes how traumatic experiences and secrets have impacted his whole family. In a suspenseful and intensive manner Abdi Nazemian interweaves three narratives about the search for a gay identity in Iran and the USA over three generations spanning 80 years. Along the way the author opens up the turbulent history of Iran in the 20^th and early 21^st centuries.
 

Grade 9 - 12