"If You Could Be Mine" by Sara Farizan

Judge a book by its cover

My friend got me the book when he went to an industry book fair.  He told me, "It's not the usually 'vampire stuff' you like.  It's about lesbians in the Middle East, so I don't know if you'll like it".  The premise intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try.

Synopsis

Sahar and Nasrin are best friends and have been in love since they were six years old.  But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls to be in love.  The punishment could range from being beaten, imprisoned, or even death.  Sahar and Nasrin carry on in secret - until Nasrin's parents arrange a marriage for her.  Nasrin tries to convince Sahar that their secret affair with each other can continue on as before, but Sahar wants to love Nasrin exclusively, and openly.  In Iran, homosexuality is a crime, but if you're a man trapped in a woman's body - that's nature's mistake and a sex reassignment is legal and government approved.  As a man, Sahar wouldn't have to love Nasrin in secret anymore.  But Sahar must decide if this life altering change is worth the love of her life.

Humble Opinion

I am a huge gay rights supporter so this book really captivated me!  The thought of two people having to hide their love for one another because of their gender is sad enough, but the punishment for such love is government approved death?!  I found it fascinating that Iran is against homosexuality, but they are okay with sex changes...  That's so bizarre in my mind - that Iran believes God (or Allah) made a mistake by putting a man in a woman's body (or vice versa), and therefore allows such drastic changes to be made to something as holy as one of God's creations - the human body.  Woman can't show their hair or elbows in public because it's "sinful", but completely changing the physical appearance and gender of a body isn't??  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people having a say about what happens to their bodies - if they want to have sex changes, or abortions, or full body tattoos, etc - that's totally their choice.  I just find the whole concept so weird and interesting.

If You Could Be Mine is so beautifully written.  The struggle that Sahar goes through with loving her best friend, Nasrin, even though it's forbidden; dealing with her best friend/love being betrothed to another and not fighting it, while she desperately tryies to find a way to be with Nasrin, even if it means being untrue to herself - it's all so heart wrenching.  Living in America, where arranged marriages don't really exist anymore, the thought of marrying someone you don't know or don't love, is so strange to me.  Even though the man that Nasrin is set up with seems like a great guy, the idea of two people who are in love, not being able to be together, is so depressing.  This book is like the anti-fairy tale.

Final say

It's a FABULOUS book!  I would recommend If You Could Be Mine to anyone - gay, straight, man, woman, black, white, etc.  It would be interesting to see a homophobic or ultra religious/Christian's view on this book.  I feel like it might open some eyes to the struggle of homosexuals.  I think it also gave me a little more insight to Muslim culture and the struggles that Muslim women face on a day to day basis.  Great book.  I loved it.