Medusa of the Roses was an excellent read. I loved the character study and the writing felt propulsive. I would read more from this author again.

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be from the synopsis. As an Iranian, I understand the complexities it is to be queer there. This felt like a crass under score of what this book could have been. I found this book demeaning and trying so hard to be sensual that it lost all of its sensuality. I lost count of how many times the word cock was said. Honestly? Wouldn’t recommend this book. Also, the title annoyed me after I finished reading this.

Thank you Netgalley & RBMedia for this audio book ARC! All opinions are my own.

a poetic tale of gay men in Tehran full of betrayal and vengeance. The writing took me a bit to get used to, but I was hooked following morally gray characters and all the unexpected twists

3.5, rounded up.
Navid Sinaki has woven some of the most beautiful sentences I've read all year. It's shocking that something so stunning could be a debut, though there's such emotion, such a sense of personal expression, that it would be equally surprising if this were anything but a debut. Where the cracks show is in the plot, though with as literary and poetic as this book is, having any plot at all is actually a rare treat. I will say, I listened to the audiobook, and while the narrator has a lovely voice that truly captures the central character, I wish I'd read it in print so I could fully absorb the language. The written word may also have made more clear some of the parts where I got lost in the narrative.
Now, I will say, this book is not for everyone. Be warned: this is not for your grandma's book club.
But liberal-minded intellectuals will rejoice in Sinaki's unique story, his complex characters, and, mostly, his stunning prose.

considering how interesting it sounded, and the fact that persian and greek mythology is interwoven into the story, i thought it would be very much up my alley - but i had a couple of issues with this book. i did enjoy the writing for the most part, and this was easy to get through. the ending/twist was interesting.

Medusa of the Roses presents an intriguing twist on the classic myth, blending fantasy with contemporary themes. I appreciated the fresh take on Medusa's character, portraying her with depth and vulnerability. The imagery is vivid, making it easy to visualize the lush settings and magical elements.
That said, the pacing felt uneven at times especially in the early chapters. Some plot points felt a bit rushed, leaving me wanting more development in key areas.

As someone with a background in American Studies and Education, Medusa of the Roses by Navid Sinaki offered a compelling and multifaceted reading experience. This literary noir, set in contemporary Tehran, provides a harrowing and insightful exploration of queer identity in a repressive society, and it resonated deeply with both my academic and personal interests.

Sinaki's portrayal of Anjir and Zal's relationship is both haunting and illuminating. The novel's depiction of LGBTQ+ experiences in a society where such identities are criminalized offers a stark and poignant commentary on global human rights issues. Anjir’s journey through love, betrayal, and self-discovery in the face of severe societal constraints is a powerful narrative that underscores the harsh realities faced by those living outside societal norms.

From an educational perspective, the book’s exploration of cultural and societal expectations is particularly compelling. It serves as a potent reminder of how educational and cultural influences shape and constrain individual identities. The novel vividly illustrates the impact of societal pressures on personal development and the struggle for acceptance in a restrictive environment.

Sinaki’s writing is beautifully poetic and cinematic, drawing readers into a world where every emotion and image is rendered with striking clarity. The lyrical prose and rich imagery not only engage the senses but also elevate the narrative to a level of profound emotional resonance. The novel’s ability to evoke such intense emotions and create a vivid, immersive experience is a testament to Sinaki’s skill as a writer.

However, the book’s intensity and somber tone might not suit everyone. It demands a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths and engage deeply with its complex themes. The non-linear pacing and introspective nature of the narrative may challenge some readers, but for those who appreciate a deeply emotional and intellectually stimulating read, it is a rewarding experience.

In conclusion, Medusa of the Roses is a remarkable novel that combines exquisite prose with a powerful examination of identity and repression. It provides an important and thought-provoking perspective on the struggles faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in a repressive society. I highly recommend it to readers who are open to exploring these challenging themes through a beautifully crafted and emotionally compelling narrative.

Medusa of the Roses is a heartbreaking portrait of the difficulties and risks of being gay in the fundamentalist Muslim world - in this case Tehran. Men go to extreme lengths to be with other men, including even getting sexual reassignment surgery in order to appear to be hetero women. The relationships, jealousies, beatings, and estrangement that permeate their lives makes for a difficult but important read. No people should be persecuted like this or have their abilities to be fulfilled and contribute to society be so restricted. The numerous mythological and serpentine references, including the snakes that bite their own owner's head is much like the self-destructive nature of the extremists.

i honestly have no feelings about this book.
it was addictive and yet simultaneously unremarkable. i didn’t dislike it but it certainly wasn’t jawdropping or memorable.
highly dark, dirty, and sexual as while as notably difficult to follow (at least in audiobook form).
a solid three stars, perhaps more after i sit with it, but certainly no less. likely to be enjoyed by other audiences

As a literary fiend, I loved this book. The descriptions of surroundings and events had me hooked, especially whenever our MC interacted with his mother and we got to see the folklore weave into reality. However, as a big fan of intricate plots, I was left confused in some parts of the story. The pacing was odd — from recounting events that happened in minutes to skipping months towards the end. This is probably informed by the author’s background in filmmaking which operates by different plot progression rules. Still, there were moments in this book that made me feel enveloped — and that is tough to achieve with such a devastating story.

This is the Iranian Ocean Voung. And regardless of my plot grievances, I am excited for Sinaki’s next book!

What a complicated book. While I'm still untangling exactly how I feel about this one, I can say for certain it was very good, and I liked it as much as you can like such a melancholy story. Anjir and Zal are young lovers, complicated and messy and often brutal to each other, but hanging above all that is the fact that they live in Tehran, where being gay is a crime. Zal has married and they do their best to eek out time and space for their love, but their ultimate plan is for Anjir to transition into a woman, which is legal, oddly enough, and they will move away and become new people, man and wife. This involves a fair amount of planning ways to dispose of Zal's wife. The plot kicks off with Zal cheating on Anjir, and then being beaten nearly to death in the street with another man. As he's recovering, he disappears, leaving Anjir to try and figure out where he's gone and how he can get him back, meaning probably following through on their plan of him becoming a woman. Along the way, he meets the loud, complicated, glamorous new woman Leyli who gives him a glance at what his life could be, and he deals with his own complicated family, like the addict brother who tried to kill him and the mother who has never fully recovered from the revolution or the traumatic brain injury she sustained a few years ago.
The writing is beautiful, cinematic and lush. Anjir is a fascinating character and narrator, because he's not necessarily just good, and his journey to womanhood is just as complicated. The exploration of the intersection between gender and sexuality is really interesting in this book. At times, it can look like he is solely interested in the transition in order to live openly as someone who loves a man, but at other times, he talks about his long standing fascination with the ancient Greek prophet, Tyresias, who was turned into a woman while he was a young man. Leyli, as well, seems happy as a woman at times, and at other times, she seems torn about her choices. She's also an interesting foil because her lifestyle is so much different: she's rich, and Anjir steals to survive most of the time. I will say that the pacing and passage of time was at times a little nebulous, but never in a way that was so distracting that it was fine. As a whole, this was a spectacular novel that I'm going to be thinking about for a while.

"Medusa of the Roses" is a book I really had to sit with. What I've come away with is that it is discordant. There is absolutely nothing about it, no moment, that feels comfortable. It is poetic and blunt, melancholic with the calm that comes from embracing what is true to yourself, full of aggression, yearning, dear, determination, and more of an idea of hope than hope itself. There are no heroes, there is maliciousness but there is an incredibly murky link between villain and victim. As a reader I was continually aching from sympathy to realizing that there were lines being completely erased instead of being crossed when it comes to what is generally seen as morality positive. I'm not sure if I was drawn in or dragged, but my heart was squeezed to the last drop.

It's a story that puts at its front not only the known hatred of anything not conforming to a very rigid standard, but the hypocrisy of the exceptions that can be made. As a result is he protagonist wrestling with the matter of trading one falsehood for another to be accepted. But as the story clearly points out, and one thing I greatly appreciated, was that what in theory is said to be the solution is hardly treated in reality as it is on paper. Never is there respect or true acceptance.

There is a plot, there is a transformation and a path for all these characters. There is also a memory recall that frames how everyone got to where they are. I have to commend the structuring style of meandering thoughts to really enhance how fluid it made them feel woven. But I can't recommend this as a book that is about that plot. It's more about how these experience frame us and how you respond to the traumas you face. I also took from it a nod to the more of wanting to will hope into your life even if it comes to you in a way that is beyond flawed. For all teh darkness, the specks of life and the things that are cherished certainly stick out.

I would find this book hard to recommend to those who might like something more straight forward. But to those who are willing to just put yourself through a strainer and to hear another voice and the conditions and which lives are weighed down to this day, or maybe be first exposed to it, I would encourage them to take a shot. At they very least, there are some beautiful nods to folk lore to be reminded of or encounter for the first time in a way that is done with love and respect.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Medusa of the Roses engages all the senses and creates a dreamlike spell. With rich, nuanced prose, it leads deep into possessive passion and sacrifice.

Sinaki is a master of selective details and creates a seductive experience. He orchestrates his emotional notes with great finesse.The sensuality of his writing kept me immersed, envisioning all the places he described, and living the emotions of the man in love.

I found the painful and disturbing parts well-balanced with beauty and the extraordinary tapestry of mythology, literature, vivid desires, flowers, fruits, wisdom, and transporting visions.

All of the relationships rang true and nothing felt extraneous. The powerful imagery throughout the book will stay with me.

The main character’s perceptions hooked me immediately. Through Anji's viewpoint, acts feel elevated. I could picture all of it as a film. I wanted it to continue. Bravo.

Michael Crouch gives a flawless vocal performance with excellent pacing and emotional shadings. His voice and the high-quality production by RBmedia enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. Highly recommended.

My thanks to RBmedia for the ALC via NetGalley for consideration. These are my unbiased opinions.

In Medusa of the Roses, Navid Sinaki uses gorgeous language to tell the Iran-set story of Anjir and Zal, childhood friends who become adult lovers. To reduce one barrier to their relationship, Anjir decides to transition. But this isn't a "love story"; it's more about a physical addiction to another person and what one might do to keep them. Their relationship is extremely dysfunctional and neither is particularly likeable. There is no romance in the sex scenes. As beautiful as the prose is in this book, the story itself is very "interior", and I'm not sure how to explain that better.

Great audiobook performance by Michael Crouch.

3.5 stars, rounded down.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ALC of this book

Sex, vengeance, and betrayal in modern-day Tehran—Navid Sinaki’s bold and cinematic debut is a queer literary noir following Anjir, a morbid romantic and petty thief whose boyfriend disappears just as they’re planning to leave their hometown for good

Anjir and Zal are childhood best friends turned adults in love. The only problem is they live in Iran, where being openly gay is criminalized, and the government’s apparent acceptance of trans people requires them to surgically transition and pass as cis straight people.

Review

I devoured this book in one sitting and was taken in by how raw this was in both the writing and the main character Anji who is discovering that he is not only criminalized but feeling trapped by his emotions for just existing as a queer man having to process and live within the only world he's ever known and hiding out of fear.

In this book, we see the beautifully woven story of how bad persecution is for gays and transgender people in Iran 🇮🇷. Gives a deep look also into the different cultural aspects of a land that's run by old beliefs ( being gay or trans in Iran can get you killed by the government they have). This story does have some lines that hit me hard with the poetic way it was put

"Click I hear the sound it's unmistakable behind me a gun is cocked it's genius, I see ur blue shape in the mirror, you close the door your outline leans in the window. from this angle, your gun would shoot me through my back but wouldn't be dramatic enough for us, I positioned myself so it would shatter the mirror and end my reflection "

There are so many times in this book where I am hit by the writing and not just the story that's so important to be told giving us more of a look into the life of love with an incredible somber tone ( which makes this a book not suited for everyone and to go in with knowing your comfort level when reading because this book will take you on a journey of heartbreak, self-discovery and much more ).

Also, the parallels the author has brought in mythology between explaining the main character 👌 bringing in so much depth was a glorious read.

A book I recommend highly