The Septembers Of Shiraz

Isaac and Farnaz meet two people-smugglers to discuss possible escape plans. The smugglers cannot guarantee the success of the trip, alleging many dangers; they also reveal few details beyond a meeting at Tabriz, near the border with Turkey. They require a hefty fee and the family’s trust. The trip would happen in September, when there is less traffic, and after Isaac’s feet have had a chance to heal. Despite everything, Farnaz is now finally willing to take the journey. Later, Isaac works on falsifying Shirin’s passport.

Shirin sits in the car as the family drives to the Caspian resort where they have always spent their holidays for one last time. Her parents tell her of the planned escape in September. When they get to their beach house, however, a strange man opens the door. He claims that the house now belongs to him—the new government gave it to him because he serves the Revolution. Isaac, angry and upset, drives to find another house to rent.

Parviz attends the Mendelson family’s joyful celebration for the birth of the twins. He sees Rachel but does not talk to her, instead telling Mr. Mendelson about his father’s release. Mr. Mendelson reveals that he knows of Parviz’s fondness for Rachel, but he warns him not to pursue her unless he is willing to become a strict Hassid. Mr. Mendelson shares that when he was young, he considered giving up his background for a girl, but eventually turned back to the righteous path—a path that will lead to eventually producing “one thousand decent, observing Jews!” (314). Parviz knows he cannot submit to such a future of planned procreation. Still, as he watches the lowering sun at dusk, he feels calm and a rare sense of hope for his future.

Isaac’s father is about to die, but his mother refuses her son’s invitation to leave Iran with them. Hakim Amin is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Tehran, alongside his forefathers. He will be the last Amin to be buried there.

Farnaz reads a coded letter from Javad, sent from Paris. She and Isaac discuss the price they have sold their house for, their upcoming departure, and how tired, reluctant, and resigned they both are. Farnaz drives to the antique shop to return the miniature, but the shop has been closed and the owner arrested. She vows to take the painting to Europe where she may be able to return it to the owner one day.

One morning, almost exactly a year from his arrest, Isaac and Farnaz prepare to leave. Habibeh arrives unexpectedly. She tells Isaac she knows they are leaving and that she found the files in the garden. She shows Isaac the file on his brother, and tells him she burned the others, in case they were a danger to Isaac. She also ripped up the letter from the Shah’s wife, having stolen it from Morteza’s pocket after a fight with him. Isaac is unsettled by all this news and Habibeh gives the family a superstitious send off.

As they drive through ancient towns on the way to Tabriz, Isaac wonders how the new regime will cope with the weight of history: “It was in the shadow of these past glories that the country now lived” (328). In Tabriz, they eat lunch as instructed, and then meet the expected two men, who hurry them into a black car. A long drive takes them through unknown rural areas. At night, on a rugged road, they transfer quickly to a pickup already carrying 15 other people, including a pregnant woman. Their seats are in the front as they paid more than the others. In the dark, the truck drives up to a house, where they are told to eat to be able to withstand the rest of the trip. The next leg of the journey is on horseback, and the final stretch is on foot. Finally, at dawn, they cross the border and arrive in a Turkish village. There, they wait in a shack for a truck that takes them to Ankara, the Turkish capital city, where they catch a bus to Istanbul. Isaac notes that life carries on here, as everywhere, and people have the same simple wishes. He images what his future in Europe will be, and then returns to the present as he looks at his wife and sleeping daughter.