Veil of Roses

With a good Irish name like Laura Fitzgerald I was not expecting such an Iranian cultural book as Veil Of Roses.  The plot was a predictable and boring romance but mixed in with that was a struggle for freedom.  Being able to feel the sun on your neck is a freedom not available to women in Iran.  Having the option to walk alone to school is a freedom not available to women in Iran.  Socializing with friends of the opposite gender is a freedom not available to women in Iran.  I was able to look past the silly romance plot and really enjoy the other parts of this story.  My favorite part was the description of the first walk in public by Tami, a 27 year old woman just off the plane from Tehran.  She walks from her sister's home in Tuscon past several miles of stores to a college campus where she is enrolled in an  English class with other immigrants.  A police officer walks by her at Starbucks and asks if she needs help.  She assumes the worst and is sure she will be deported immediately.  The way the author wrote it made it feel real to me.  I think of immigrants as brave souls but sometimes they have to leave their homes because staying while remaining sane is impossible.