MY LIFE AS A TRAITOR

Ghahramani's memoir starts with her being interrogated and beaten in an Iranian prison. A soliloquy of flashbacks includes the history of Iran's culture and religions, her education and upbringing, and the leftist activities for which she is being detained. Narrator Marjanne Dorée speaks in three languages, each appropriate to the context: perfect American English for the author's words, English with a genuine Farsi accent when Iranians are speaking, and Farsi for Persian names and places. Her linguistic skill brings a picturesque authenticity to each situation. Her gentle and taciturn voice can switch from shocking, when recounting the guards' profanities, to warm, when describing the author's mother and father. Ghahramani's vehicle of placing herself in the milieu of her country's turmoil creates a colorful self-portrait. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2008]