Farewell Shiraz: An Iranian Memoir of Revolution and Exile

by Cyrus Kadivar

In October 1999 during a trip to Cairo, Cyrus Kadivar, an exiled Iranian living in London, visited the tomb of the last shah and opened a Pandora’s box. Haunted by nostalgia for a bygone era, he recalled a protected and idyllic childhood in the fabled city of Shiraz and his coming of age during the 1979 Iranian revolution. Back in London, he reflected on what had happened to him and his family after their uprooting and decided to conduct his own investigation into why he lost his country. He spent the next ten years seeking out witnesses who would shed light on the last days of Pahlavi rule. Among those he met were a former empress, ex-courtiers, disaffected revolutionaries, and the bereaved relatives of those who perished in the cataclysm. In Farewell Shiraz, Kadivar tells the story of his family and childhood against the tumultuous backdrop of twentieth-century Iran, from the 1905–1907 Constitutional Revolution to the fall of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, before presenting accounts of his meetings with key witnesses to the Shah’s fall and the rise of Khomeini. Each of the people interviewed provides a richly detailed picture of the momentous events that took place and the human drama behind them. Combining exquisite vignettes with rare testimonials and first-hand interviews, Farewell Shiraz draws us into a sweeping yet often intimate account of a vanished world and offers a compelling investigation into a political earthquake whose reverberations still live with us today.

Genres: Biography

400 pages, Hardcover

Published June 16, 2017

Reviews

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very compelling book. At times I had to put it down because it touched me on very personal levels. I am originally from Iraq and the authors experiences and background is so similar to my own that at times, it felt like he spoke straight out of my own mouth. Heartbreaking to lose a home, a country, a culture. Healing to sit down and resolve to overcome somehow, by analysing what happened. This Cyrus Kadivar does with a committed intellectual discipline that is admirable. Very factual, trying to remain unbiased, he delves into all those viewpoints and triggers that lead to revolution, from the points of view of all those many different people with different priorities who contributed through acts of commission or omission to this devastating result in the end. So sad, the Shah's illness towards the end which may have contributed to what happened. I felt very upset by the Shah's indecisiveness and inability to take any initiative at the end but his illness must have been the deeper reason for it. Immensely well written book, absorbing, worrying in terms of what the negative side of human nature can lead us to be and do, a superb insight into a large range of different characters and personalities and how they set their priorities and viewpoints. Above all, an educational forage into the history of a great nation that many of us know little about apart from the superficialities of revolution as an occurrence. I learned a lot and feel the book helped me establish some link with my Iranian grandmother whom I have sadly never met. A book that has obviously been extremely well researched, the detail is astonishing, the story consistent and the knowledge imparted very extended. It takes engagement and is at times, not a leisurely read, but I highly recommend it. A much needed work, applause.

[Michael Milgrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former faculty member of the university in Shiraz, who lived through the early stages of the Islamic Revolution, I can highly recommend Cyrus Kadivar's retelling of the events of that revolution as it unfolded in Shiraz in southwest Iran. Kadivar's memoir, based on diaries he kept and his own vivid recollections, is interwoven with a personal account of the circumstances of his family caught up in the revolutionary whirlwind. Kadivar follows the accelerating momentum of the revolution over 1978 and 1979, highlighting the grievances and stratagems of the revolutionaries. A chain of especially tragic events in 1978 would unite most of the population against the Shah's regime, but no unanimity existed as to what would follow him. Moderate elements favoring a constitutional and secular government were soon subverted by Islamic fundamentalists and nativists.
While not uncritical of the Shah's authoritarian rule, Kadivar is sympathetically disposed to the Shah's achievements and the stability his regime ensured domestically and regionally. The Shah's efforts at liberalization the last three years of his reign came too late. As the Shah's well-equipped and well-trained military dissolved, Islamic vigilante groups rounded up members of his regime and Islamic courts swiftly meted out death sentences. Underlying the resentment of the fundamentalists was a perception that the Shah's regime was dominated by an elite with Western tastes and orientation. The chaos during the early years of the revolution set off successive waves of emigration among royalists, liberals and secularists.
In the final section of his book, Kadivar interviews surviving functionaries of the Shah's regime or their family members now living in exile. On the basis of their insights, he develops 14 profiles of figures who played prominent roles in 20th century Iranian history. From the interview with those who may have once wielded influence over the course of events in Iran, the reader gets a hands-on feel for what is was like to have lived through the revolution and to have grappled with what measures, if any, could have been taken to defuse the situation. In this capacity, the interviewees become spokespersons for a proud nation that suffered a terrible tragedy and experiences a profound discontinuity in its history.
Michael Milgrim, PhD

[Rasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing intimate read. So real and very moving. The writer put himself into the text and the fusion is brilliant!

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important, enjoyable and a great read:

Having visited Iran myself in the 70s, I found the book gave me a totally new perspective as well as being very engaging and enjoyable. While it gave a very personal insight into the years before and during the revolution it also attempted to unravel and make sense of those years from a historic and questioning point of view.

Through vividly remembered impressions and details, Kadivar conveys a powerful and moving picture of his childhood and adolescent years before and up to the revolution in 1979 when he and his family were forced into exile. This part of the book would also make a great film (young love in the midst of revolution).
Although he grew up in a fairly idyllic, privileged and in many ways Westernised environment which benefited from many of the more liberal advances brought in by the Shah’s regime, he was from a very young age very aware of the unrest and many complex and often very brutal realities. He kept detailed diaries from a very young age. In 1978 (age 15) his diaries became more of a political journal as Khomeini sympathizers clashed with government troops and police. While trying to lead a normal teenaged life, the reality of revolution was part of daily life with mass shootings and destruction. Many of the top officials were facing the firing squad. His perceived stability of life under the Royal family was falling apart and the advancing radical Islamist replacement was taking hold.

In the second half of the book, Kadivar is searching 30 years on to further understand and discover some of the complexities that had forced him to so abruptly to leave his home, friends and even his diaries behind when leaving Iran for a new life in exile. Many of the people and memories he wrote about as a youth in the first half of the book reappear in the second half as he tracks down and interviews many of the key players of the Shahs regime who have now spent the last years of their lives in exile.

[Bahram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Mr Kadivar's book - Farewell to Shiraz, strangely enough on the 40th anniversary of a revolution that put a stop not only to progress, modernity, tolerance and prosperity in Iran but to the entire region and the greater Middle East. An unfortunate, barbaric revolution that has even changed the way we live in the free world today: feeling unsafe, worried about terrorist attacks and further wars!

Having lived in that enchanted land of 'roses & nightingales' in the 1970s myself, Farewell to Shiraz rekindled the bygone days I had to revisit in the depth my memory while writing my own novel 'From Fall to Spring'.

I left Iran on the eve of the unfortunate revolution, yet to this day I have not lost hope for Iran to be free again. Not having lost contact with my Iranian friends from those golden days, I have made more friends, since many Iranians have formed prosperous communities in the West. Mr Kadivar, his autobiography and many other Iranians, particularly the new generation in Iran are a living proof that this dark period in their history shall pass and once again find their rightful place among the most civilised nations on earth.

If you are interested and curious to learn about many events that have ultimately led to our world today, you cannot afford not reading Farewell to Shiraz.

My congratulations to Mr Kadivar for such an outstanding book, and my best wishes to all Iranians and for the future of their amazing homeland.

[Ingrid Leksand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Mr Kadivar's book - Farewell to Shiraz, strangely enough on the 40th anniversary of a revolution that put a stop not only to progress, modernity, tolerance and prosperity in Iran but to the entire region and the greater Middle East. An unfortunate, barbaric revolution that has even changed the way we live in the free world today: feeling unsafe, worried about terrorist attacks and further wars!

Having lived in that enchanted land of 'roses & nightingales' in the 1970s myself, Farewell to Shiraz rekindled the bygone days I had to revisit in the depth my memory while writing my own novel 'From Fall to Spring'.

I left Iran on the eve of the unfortunate revolution, yet to this day I have not lost hope for Iran to be free again. Not having lost contact with my Iranian friends from those golden days, I have made more friends, since many Iranians have formed prosperous communities in the West. Mr Kadivar, his autobiography and many other Iranians, particularly the new generation in Iran are a living proof that this dark period in their history shall pass and once again find their rightful place among the most civilised nations on earth.

If you are interested and curious to learn about many events that have ultimately led to our world today, you cannot afford not reading Farewell to Shiraz.

My congratulations to Mr Kadivar for such an outstanding book, and my best wishes to all Iranians and for the future of their amazing homeland.

[Irakli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read “Farewell Shiraz” and would like to commend the author for his remarkable book. I enjoyed the very personal memoir which brought to life a story of Iran during the period which many of us have forgotten and which for many of current generation is either unknown or so distant that they continue to regard the current status quo in Iran as something which is either natural or something that fits into western stereotype of an islamic nation. Through its memoir Mr. Kadivar tells the story of people who served Iran with dignity and honor but perished as a consequence of historic tide which swept country and to certain extend threw the nation back to religious conservatism. The book is very informative and raises many questions about how Iran under the Shah, which was making progress in catching up with advanced economies was allowed to fail in its quest of becoming a modern prosperous nation as a result of geopolitical miscalculations committed by western powers and the mistakes of Iran’s ruling class in dealing with challenges of transformation. It is deeply personal account and any interested in the history of the region would enjoy reading, since it captures the period through the eyes of the person who lived through the rise and fall of Shah’s rule and whose life was changed by the events in his native country.

[Kyril Calsoyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous heartfelt memoir from a knowledgeable and sensitive source. Mr. Kadivar lived the experiences he writes about and makes them accessible for those to whom his world was a mystery.
His narrative is a guide for us all in reconciling loss with the need to continue to live and thrive in this world.

Mr. Kadivar is an exemplary first author insofar as he doesn't follow hackneyed memoir forms and reaches deeply into his soul to bring to light occurrences and their meaning from a time so different from our own. I hope that he will continue to explore the evolution of the Persian diaspora as his people make their mark on cultures around the world.

[John Metzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book presents a rich, realistic and readable tapestry of the End of the Pahlavi Era in Iran and its complicated but oft misunderstood aftermath.

The volume offers a intricately textured account, rooted not in nostalgia as much as the What If?
Farewell Shiraz presents an elegantly narrated saga, a literary Merchant Ivory film, which looks not to the Golden Haze of history but the realistic and often tragic aftermath of an "end of an Era."

[Sky Nikodell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written book, a combination of a memoir and a factual description of pre revolutionary Iran and a description of events leading up to the revolution, from key witnesses that were involved, that the author met throughout the years. A bit too pro monarchist, not really objective, but nonetheless a truly fascinating read. Recommended for anyone interested in the events surrounding the revolution.

[kec2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poingent look at a young man's life as he had to leave his homeland behind. Well done and engaging!

[Kifah Arif · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s one of them books that one gets hooked on like one does, say with binging on Netflix series or Turkish drama ! with “withdrawal symptoms ” once it’s finished .
Very compelling read indeed. The personal memoir interwoven with the social and political history of that era was so elegantly narrated and very engaging.
Kadivar investigative style in zooming into the circumstances that led to the downfall of the Shah trying to find answers was honest and unbiased as much as one can be - who was part of Iran elite during the Shah’s rule. His interviews with the Shah’s inner circules in London and Paris including Farah Pahlavi (Dina) were very revealing and rich with archive photos

[Mrs T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farewell Shiraz is a "must" read for everyone! It is a brilliantly crafted memoir that seeks to make sense of the Iranian revolution and the fall from power of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi through intimate interviews and personal observation. For those who lived that chaotic era it reawakens the past with the stature of a greek tragedy. It is a silent screen movie with forgotten characters springing back to life, so 3 dimensional that I grieved for my past as I never had before!
Every interview is a rich tapestry, colorful and honest. Kadivar shows us via the fair scales of unbiased journalism that nothing is ever black and white. Consequently, we see the Shah with all of his human weaknesses and humanity caught up in a storm he could not control.
What was most poignant for me was how the author paid tribute to the heroes of the revolution who valiantly gave their lives for country and monarch.