First Love in Iran
A Memoir of Longing, War, Leaving, and Becoming
Buy on AmazonA Memoir of Longing, War, Leaving, and Becoming
First Love in Iran
Before love had language, it arrived as a glance.
Set in Iran after the 1979 revolution, First Love in Iran begins with a boy who sees a girl for one suspended second, a glance so brief it becomes the first country of his imagination.
From that moment, the memoir follows the education of a heart: childhood under the shadow of war, friendship tested by danger, desire shaped by silence, family love forced into sacrifice, and the long journey of leaving Iran, building a life elsewhere, and learning what it means to let go.
This is a memoir about the loves that make us, unmake us, and sometimes return us to ourselves.
Also available in Português.
About the Book
A literary memoir about love in its many forms.
First Love in Iran is a literary memoir about love in its many forms: first desire, friendship, family duty, leaving, marriage, fatherhood, divorce, work, solitude, compassion, and release.
The story begins in post-revolutionary Iran, where childhood unfolds inside a society suddenly reshaped by new rules, new fears, and new boundaries between boys and girls. Soon after, the Iran-Iraq War deepens the atmosphere of uncertainty, bringing danger, loss, and silence closer to home.
But the book is not written as a political argument or a history lesson. History appears the way it often does in real life: through schoolyards, family silences, sudden departures, forbidden longings, and the memories that refuse to disappear.
At the center is a boy trying to understand beauty before he has the language for it, and later, a man looking back on the people and moments that shaped him.
Some love arrives as wonder. Some as duty. Some as hunger, protection, ambition, grief, mercy, or peace. Each leaves something behind.
Told with restraint, intimacy, and quiet humor, First Love in Iran is not a guide to love. It is the record of a life changed by love’s many disguises.
- Author
- Bijan Farnam
- Edition
- English
- Title
- First Love in Iran
- Subtitle
- A Memoir of Longing, War, Leaving, and Becoming
- ISBN
- 9798259122093
- Genre
- Memoir
Read a sample
Available editions
Choose your edition.
The book is currently available in English and Brazilian Portuguese. Each edition has its own Amazon listing and book page.
Primeiro Amor no Irã
Memórias de saudade, guerra, exílio e transformação
Ver edição em portuguêsFAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this a romance, a memoir, or a political book?
It is a memoir.
The title begins with first love, but the book is not a conventional romance. It explores love more broadly: first desire, friendship, family duty, leaving, marriage, fatherhood, grief, ambition, compassion, and the quieter forms of love that are only understood years later.
Iran’s political history is present because it shaped the narrator’s childhood, but the emotional center of the book is love, memory, and becoming.
Do I need to know Iranian history to understand the book?
No.
The book is written for readers who may know very little about Iran. The historical setting matters, but the emotional story is human and accessible: a child trying to understand beauty, fear, loyalty, family, loss, and the strange ways love can remain alive long after life has moved on.
Readers familiar with Iran may recognize the atmosphere more deeply. Readers new to Iran can still enter the story through its people, memories, and choices.
Why does the 1979 Iranian Revolution matter to the story?
The revolution changed the narrator’s world before he was old enough to fully understand it.
After 1979, ordinary life in Iran shifted quickly. Public behavior, dress, schools, family life, and relationships between boys and girls all came under new pressures. Soon after, the Iran-Iraq War brought danger even closer to daily life.
In the book, history is not presented from a distance. It is felt through childhood, school, streets, family decisions, silence, danger, and memory.
Who might enjoy this book?
Readers who enjoy literary memoirs, coming-of-age stories, immigrant stories, stories of first love, and books about memory, family, leaving, and identity may connect with First Love in Iran.
It may also interest readers drawn to Iran, the Middle East, life after revolution, or personal stories shaped by history without becoming political commentary.
What editions are available?
The book is currently available in English and Brazilian Portuguese.
The English edition is titled First Love in Iran. The Brazilian Portuguese edition is titled Primeiro Amor no Irã. Each edition has its own Amazon listing and book page.
Where can I buy the book?
Use the official Amazon listing for the English edition. The Portuguese page links to its corresponding edition.
Is Bijan Farnam a pen name? How do I get in contact?
Yes. Bijan Farnam is the author’s pen name.
For privacy reasons, the author is not currently doing live TV, radio, podcast, video, or in-person interviews. Media, reviewers, booksellers, and book clubs may contact the author’s team by email for review copies, a press kit, cover images, excerpts, discussion questions, a short written statement, or written Q&A responses.
For inquiries, please email contact@bijanfarnam.com.
Contact
For media, reviewers, booksellers, and book clubs.
For privacy reasons, the author is not currently doing live TV, radio, podcast, video, or in-person interviews. Written requests are welcome by email.
Email
contact@bijanfarnam.com
For inquiries, review copies, press kits, cover images, excerpts, discussion questions, written statements, or written Q&A responses.
Pen name
Bijan Farnam
Bijan Farnam is the author’s pen name, used for personal and family privacy.