Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree

by Shookoofeh Azar

This is one of the books on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize this year.
I like to read works from different countries and cultures.  However, I found this book a kind of downer.  Part of my reaction might be because we are in the midst of the pandemic right now.

The book is set in Iran.  I know the author wanted to show how cruel people could be to each other but I found the book bizarre and depressing.

The story is told by a dead girl, the young daughter of the family.  She dies when soldiers set fire to their family home because they are considered dissidents.  The girl, a ghost, is able to see her family and follow their activities.   Somehow they know she is there.... she does take things from the family home and move things around so perhaps that is how they know she is there.

After the daugther's death the family moves far out into the country thinking they can get away from all the terror.  The father works with the nearby villagers and helps to get houses built and schools so the community thrives for a time.

The brother in the family is taken to prison and dies there because people seem to have forgotten about him.  The mother seems to have a nervous breakdown and walks away wandering around the country, eventually she has an affair with a man she meets.

After a time the family tell the young girl they don't want her around anymore.

The other sister in the family has an affair with a man, he leaves her for another woman and she also leaves the family to turn into a mermaid.  The family make a tank for her but eventually realize she needs to be released into the river. Near the end of the book the mermaid leaves the water to see her family and is abused by men who try to figure out how to have sex with her, then she is killed.

The family home falls into disrepair.  At the end the mother returns and the father and mother are back together. 

I know the author wanted to comment on the violence in Iran but found it so tragic that all the children had to die.  The book did not seem to offer any hope for the future.