Book review: "On the Road''

These memories’ color is gray!

2016-5-1

"On the Road"* This title for most audiences has just the same sense of "who moves to the destination." But these two words have additional specialized meaning. "On the Road" is a military terminology of artillery which is sent by espial to artillery so that artillery find out exchanged information has been approved. Given ambiguity of the two words, the title chosen for the book, but "On the Road" is scheduled to speak what? The book is included Memories of Ali Khosravinik, disabled veteran and Released captive (Azade) from bondage of Salahuddin camp. In ​​those years, Khosravi was a soldier who went voluntarily to the front. The Book which has a different view into bondage, has formulated in ten chapters. The titles of the chapters are "Dardasht beautiful home", "great choice", "alternative", "Towards Destiny", "trust the jailer", "Ramadi; captivity in captivity", "camp, a city in size of life", "days of fear and hope", "missing father" and " narration of image".

Different view to war

"On the Road" is a book that can be maneuvered on its text. The narrator has a different view to subject of captivity, the book that he is its main character is not summarized in torture and sufferings of captivity but Khosravi despite having seriousness feature, appropriately also has used Humor: "Nowruz[1] 1363 (1984) arrived when we were sitting around a tabletop (Sofre) Haft-Seen[2] at Ramadi camp. The Haft-Seen including seens such as barbed wire (Simkhardar), stones (Sang), cigarette (Sigar) and pail (Satl). My friends picked up two Oleander leaves from a branch that was grown into the camp behind barbed wire, had been arranged as a Sabzeh. One of my freinds also had arranged a Kalashnikov bullet. I said, "Bullets for what?" He Said: lead is in it, it has in the first, Seen."

Another feature of this book is diversity of its memories. Memories are not just bitter, but tell the life, as they were passing, well, bad, also bitter, too sweet, "the consequences of the cease-fire was that the Iraqis said, we also want ignite and jump on fire. They said you have to jump if for once, we jumped. Fire was going to burn my pants. All together we were telling: My yellowness to you, your redness to me. Iraqis had learned and were joined us: yellowness of me you, redness of you me; we laugh at them and they laughed at us. I said to one of them, "Bring some fake bullets and detonators to throwing firecrackers." He said that no, this is forbidden, gunshots in here, all around camps will be alerted.

Khosravi in narrative of "On the Road" has also used taboo-breaking. In his memoirs persons are not only black, but black and white, despite their evil deeds, good features also are found in them. Iraqis are not exception, just like Shaker, an Iraqi guard at the shrine of Hazrat Abolfazl (AS), who moves barefooted alongside captives towards the shrine.

Khosravi himself has been also a taboo-breaker and had been teaching English in the camp to an Iraqi. As well as, someone can see in the memories of this book sympathy of a guard to a prisoner and trust of a prisoner to a guard.

"On the Road" narrates oral history of Holly Defense and captivity of one of fighters in Iraq. In this narrative, judgement is traced a little and inspires nothing to the audience, but rather is an attempt to describe the events as purely and honestly so that the audience to be free in decision and judgment. This book is admirable in this respect.

Three periods of Life in Pictures

The tenth and last chapter of the book, called "narration of images", contains pictures and letters that have been exchanged between Ali Khosravinik and his family in bondage. Interestingly, the first picture of Khosravinik is related to the age of 19, before being sent to the front. Other images show him and other in the camp. For the curious audience who love to see her face in recent years, images of these years is also showed. In fact, photos of "narration of images" consist of three periods of the narrator's life; just before the captivity, years of prison, and years after the captivity. In these pictures, we can see passing the years on her face as well. In this chapter, there are also letters. The letters have been written from narrator's mother, father, brother and sister which one can see diversity of view and style in them. Portions of the exchanged letters also have been provided typographically. Among the letters, prose of narrator's mother is sweet, different and motherly: "What can I say of longings, of expectations, of what and what. Well I think just thanksgiving is only available more than anything. I wish I were in lockup, I could have talked to you, I kissed, and I embosomed you. Well, not the way, as you have no way ...."

A Memory

Throughout the book "On the Road" is full of memories. One of the memories is about a man named Reza Zaghi who was informer in the camp, but improves his behavior. He once easily gets two boxes of cigarettes from sergeant of the inside guards of "Salahuddin" camp that causes others to think again he begun informing. Parts of this memory are as follows:

Sergeant of the inside guards of the camp was a swart Warrant officer; his face was just like the moon, pitted, with a meatball and big nose. Reza Zaghi recounted: "I went and stood at the door of the guard-room. Warrant officer was passing, I said hello (Selam), he said hello to you (Alayka Selam).

We thought he mocks us. Dehkharqany was stared at him. He said: "What does that mean?"

He said: "Let's say' '

Dehkharqany said: "Well, tell it''

He said: "after ten minutes he came to go, I told hello (Selam).  He said hello to you (Alayka Selam). Again came out of the room, I told hello (Selam). He said hello to you (Alayka Selam), how many times you say hello (Selam). I told how like your face is similar to my father face; every time I see you, I remember my father, God bless him. He said not grieve my son, took his hand on my shoulder, took me in front of the shop and asked: What do you want? I don't want anything just two boxes of cigarettes. He bought two boxes of cigars to me and said: don't worry my son, it will be okay."

* On the way: memories of a released captive (Azade) disabled veteran and soldier Ali Khosravinyik, interviewing and writing: Said Alamian, 400 pages, First Edition: 2014, Tehran: Islamic Procelytization Organization, International Publishing Company