Do not, under any circumstances, belittle a work of fiction by trying to turn it into a carbon copy of real life; what we search for in fiction is not so much reality but the epiphany of truth.
She resented the fact that her veil, which to her was a symbol of scared relationship to god, had now become an instrument of power, turning the women who wore them into political signs and symbols.
Other people’s sorrows and joys have a way of reminding us of our own; we partly emphasize with them because we ask ourselves: What about me? What does this say about my life, my pains, my anguish?
One cancels the other, and yet without one, the other is incomplete. In the first photograph, standing there in our black robes and scarves, we are as we had been shaped by someone else’s dreams. In the second, we appear as we imagined ourselves. In neither could we feel completely at home.
I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you.
Going away isn’t going to help as much as you think. The memory stays with you, and the stain. It’s not something you slough off once you leave.
This is Tehran for me: its absences were more real than its presences.
My toe as a lethal weapon!
It is amazing how, when all possibilities seem to be taken away from you, the minutest opening can become a great freedom.
That, of course, is what great works of imagination do for us: They make us a little restless, destabilize us, question our preconceived notions and formulas.
Memories have ways of becoming independent of the reality they evoke. They can soften us against those we were deeply hurt by or they can make us resent those we once accepted and loved unconditionally.
Once we know of atrocities we cannot remain silent, and knowledge inevitably leads to an urge to protect the innocent.
I am suddenly left alone again on the sunny path, with a memory of the rain.
None of us can avoid being contaminated by the world’s evils; it’s all a matter of what attitude you take towards them.
The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.
I eat my heart out alone.
Most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best fiction always forced us to question what we took for granted. It questioned traditions and expectations when they seemed to immutable.
You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesn’t exist.
Lots of times you can feel as an exile in a country that you were born in.
When I first left Iran at the age of 13, Iran had become such a shining star – it was the point to which all my desires and dreams returned.