Author name: Judith

My heart broke many times while reading Shadows of Tehran. It is a fascinating and timely story about fighting for what you believe in, even when the odds are stacked against you.

What distinguishes this novel is its ability to marry historical complexity with deeply personal stakes. Ricardo, born to an Iranian mother and American father, embodies the fractured self of the modern exile. From the beginning, he is a child “from two different worlds,” straddling cultural chasms and emotional divides that few can navigate without scars. The author’s preface warns us that “this is not just a recounting of events,” and indeed, what unfolds is a richly textured exploration of family, abandonment, resilience, and ultimately, identity.

The early chapters are particularly vivid. I was moved by the descriptions of the family’s Tehran home—a place “built in the mid-1800s…with colorful pomegranate trees and lemon and orange trees with fragrant blooms.” Berg’s ability to describe the setting with such sensory immersion is one of the book’s great strengths. His Tehran is not just a city; it is a character in its own right, both nurturing and oppressive.