The Walking by Laleh Khadivi is a story of emigration and the struggles faced in reconciling dreams with reality. Saladin is a seventeen year old Kurdish boy living in Iran. He has faced bigotry under the regime of the Shah and it worsens when Khomeini comes to power. There is a bloody confrontation that leaves Saladin & his older brother, Ali, on the run from the authorities and the boys flee for their lives. The difference between them, however, is huge: Ali wants to hide out temporarily and then return to fight for the Kurds, while Saladin dreams of going to the America he has fantasized about for years, the country he has seen through the lens of Hollywood movies. Saladin makes it to America, but life in Los Angeles is not what he imagined it would be.

The format of the book resembles that of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Even numbered chapters tell Saladin's story, moving back and forth through time. The odd numbered chapters are written in first person and paint a picture of the times, with anonymous narrators sharing their thoughts on the very situations Saladin is living. These chapters are full of details that emphasize the difficulties of daily decisions Iranians were forced to make, along with the resultant heartache. "The favorite towel does not come after us. Where did it come from anyway? We can't remember, but it was always there, waiting for us to come out of the bath. Soft enough to absorb water, thin enough that we could still feel our muscles and bones beneath. Who would have thought a towel could be kind, but it was, in its own way." This book is about Iranian emigration, but its theme is universal. Recommended. ( )