Out of Iran: One Woman's Escape from the Ayatollahs

by Angela Ferrante, Angela Ferrante

Born into a wealthy, westernised elite of the Shah's Iran, Sousan Azadi grew up in luxury. In her privileged circles the thunder of approaching revolution was easy to ignore. Then the Shah fell and in the terrifying new fundamentalist regime of Ayatollah Khomeini Sousan and her friends were branded taghouti, devil's followers. They were hunted, their children brainwashed, their property confiscated. Alone with her son after the death of her husband, Sousan became an easy target. She was flung into jail, where she witnessed terrible suffering inflicted in the name of 'immodest behaviour' and 'indecency.' Only when she caught the eye of a Mullah, who clearly expected sexual favours in return, did she escape. But real freedom still lay beyond the snow-capped Zagros mountains, in Turkey- a hazardous route for a woman and child to take. OUT OF IRAN grips and involves the reader as it recounts one woman's courageous struggle for survival in fanatical war-torn Iran.

Genres: Iran, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Apratim Mukherjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about an Iranian woman's life from her birth to her escape (yes its not an escape story).Sousan is brave but she is not a good story teller.Many pages were wasted in just explaining minutest of details of her life which the reader is not interested to know many a times.Further the book ends quite abruptly as only last three chapters tell about the escape.It is an average book.Be prepared to get bored for a long time.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally I didn’t rate this book. The woman in question led a wealthy privileged life with servants at her beck and call. She says that she was unaware of the problems that poor Iranians had. But appears to lament her entitled lifestyle is no longer.

[Daniyal Yasin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice. Gives a good perspective on how the Iranian revolution affected the rich class.

[Maria Gmp · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books that you can not put down... A very powerful, yet sometimes disturbing book! Shocking to see that women were treated as second class citizens!

[Sonia Yavari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed every page of it. It gave me lots of information about the history of my country.

[Arno Enghien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the dutch version and liked the translation. Written elegantly and depicting a quite interesting image.

[Varja Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mooi, spannend boek. Goed geschreven en het geeft de lezer een duidelijk beeld van iran; voor, tijdens en na de revolutie. En het perspectief van Sousan is ook erg interessant; van elite tot vluchteling.

[Belle Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considering what a threat Iran is to the world with its State sponsored terrorism, designs on all of the Middle East, and its oft-stated dedication to the destruction of Israel, I decided to read about this country that most of us know so little about. This book shocked the s--t out of me. The Ayatollah and his mullah's have destroyed this beautiful country and its cultural heritage. Out of Iran is the story of Iran prior to the Islamic revolution, through the horrendous days that followed, and finally to the militant Islamic dictatorship that it has become. It is the story of one woman, Sousan Azadi's perilous escape from her beloved country. The scariest thing about this book is that our country (this administration) is negotiating with these creatures, I can't call them human beings.

We should all be afraid of this country that is run by hypocritical religious zealots.

[Mirjam Penning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the Dutch version of this book. Then it's called: Vlucht uit Iran.
It's about a young woman, that grew up with many privilages. Then the revolution and the death of her husband got in the way and her life changed drastically. She becomes a single mother with a son and is up against the regime. She manages in her own way, until one day the regime catches up with her. Then she sees no other choice, but to leave Iran with her son and build up a life somewhere else.
This book is a memoir. The name Azadi means freedom, but is not her real name. She chose it for the meaning of the word and for protection.
The last known news is that she lives in Canada. She designs and sells jewellery.

[Vaibhav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I had chosen this book to learn more about Iran and its people's way of life during the 50's to the late 80's, the book tells more the story of Sousan Azadi's life. It seemed boring at the beginning to read about someone's life I wasnt interested in the first place but slowly between the lines, this book told me exactly what I was looking for.
The last 100-odd sides are fast-paced which describe the author's exit from Iran, reads like straight out of a fiction-based novel.

[Lauraly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary, horrifying and it hurt to read it. I shouldn't have read it when I was pregnant and more prone to nightmares. Sousan Azadi came across to me as so very very naive and at times downright dumb, but I appreciated her complete honesty. Her story is downright horrifying, especially when you take into account that she was rich and one of the lucky ones.

Terrifying, eye opening and chilling.

[Mish · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fabulous read!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

painfully gripping. shockingly exposes the muslim world. a rivoting read. highly recommended!

[Leanne]

I read this book as a pre-teen and still remember being gripped by it. It was a real eye-opener, especially for a young reader.

[Mugdha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. Sad to see the downfall of a country from a rich, flourishing one to extreme orthodox and violent. Flight of women there is unimaginable. Well written book.