The book is remarkable for its nuanced critique of Iran’s affluent bourgeoisie, as well as intriguing allusions to capitalism and colonialism, which explains why several critics in Iran have applauded Moradi Ahani’s audacity for exploring heretofore undiscussed topics in Iranian fiction.
Siavash Saadlou, Minur Literatures
Golfing on Gunpowder is a novel about the current political and economic circumstances in Iran. Ms. Sam, a woman of the upper class, meets a guy named Hami Navahpur who works for the political organs of the Iranian Government and ignorantly becomes a pawn in his economic super-deals and secret meetings and lobbies of the government. After this relationship, she heads for a sea trip on a cruise ship and as the plot unfolds, meets Nabi Navahpur, Hami’s father on the ship. Observing some events on board, she decides that Hami and his father have not been in touch for a long time. Gradually she gets fond of Nabi and he, due to reasons later told in the story gets close to her as well. After travelling in different countries, Sam discovers that Nabi Navahpur has lost a deal because of the crippling international sanctions pressed against Iran, and now he tries to win the deal back by getting round the sanctions through Russians. As he refused to sell the deal to Hezbollah, when they haul the ship in Lebanon, Hezbollah tries to kill Navahpur in a suicide attack. Sam and Navahpur survive the attack. Navahpur gets drunk one night in the bar and tells Sam the story of his life but the next day when the ship arrives in Sicily he disappears. Sam backs to Tehran, decides to call Hami. As a consequence of events happening later on in the novel, Sam realizes that she was played by Hami from the start. She comes to know what has happened to Nabi and discovers the reason of his love for her and also the biggest secret of his life.
