Book Review: Memories of Iman KafaieMehr

Growing to a man in teen ages

Elham Saleh
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2016-5-15

Iraqi imposed war against Iran (known as Jang-e Tahmili in Persian) had many surprises. In all years of the war, Iranians did all. Fathers sent their sons to the front, and they also went to the front themselves. All age groups were found in battlefields, from old to young. There were a lot of young people walked behind the embankment in their youth, what a difficult walking. Instead of comforting in towns or villages, their legs were on the mines, and their eyes to their comrades wounded bodies. Listening to their talks and seeing the war from their perspective, is a different atmosphere. They were also in a different mood that abandoned school. "Maturity behind the embankment"[1]* is about one of these people.

True Story

The book absorbs the audience in the first few sentences. Namely famous slapping down his audience: "I was dead."

The two words are enough to give the respondent wishes to continue the text. "Maturity behind the levee" In this sense is a successful book. The book begins with the death of the narrator in his childhood. "The doctor surely glanced at my parents who did not know what to do at the moment and said: the dead, nor possible to injection, no possible to attach serum. You see he is not breathing." My mother, overt here, leant on the wall, and my father loosened his legs and sat on the floor. The serum was hanging on my mother hands, dad glanced at me and then my mother was telling: Abolfazl, Abolfazl, Abolfazl ... maybe if I weren't a baby and understood all these things, I would die because of my mother concern; certainly would die again."

The narrator and the author speak about the facts that perhaps not would be able well to attract audiences without element of imagination. In the first chapter, the narrator reveals his life; father, mother, family, herself, Favorites. But all these are not cursory but elegant, and each is stated in its own place which is one of the virtues of the book. In this chapter the narrator will be familiar with the concept of fighting; by guns which brother brings home such as Kalashnikov, Uzi and G3. The war also begins in the first chapter which the first meaning of it is fear. "I was afraid, childish fear from war. So I knew and understood that war means killing."

The fear which came suddenly goes suddenly. The story of testimonial, desire to go to the front, and unrest of parents will be begun. After sending out to the front, the narrator goes to Mehran front. Guarding nights, difficult conditions of the region and heat are another issues of the book: "Mehran heat was so suffering who any one couldn't look to the forward. The gun was so hot that it was not touchable. Water inside the Bottle was hotter than metal trunk of the gun. The thirst forced us to eat the hot water. When we delivered the post, because of lethargy and fatigue, Iron helmet strap was in our hands, moving magazine and the guns on the floor, and would arriving back to the trenches. "

In this book with 10 chapters we read about teenage shenanigans, atmosphere of war, chemical bombardment and fighting. All this is narrated by someone who remembers his teenage mood and those days of the war.

An Impressive Text

Reading about a bitter reality such as war has a special charm. Going to the front at the age of fourteen creates another appeal about the narrator. These two features as well as prose of the book are the virtues of the book. But they're not only these. Teen combatant of "The maturity behind bulwark", in proportion to his age, had shenanigans which are reflected in the book too. It also adds to grace of the book. In parts of the prose of the book, the local language is used which is another positive feature of the book. These conversations have been translated into Persian in footnotes.

To an audience who trace the "maturity behind bulwark" along with "faith" of the teenager, the question that arises is about his condition in the days after the war and twenty-eight years after the war. If in part of the book, a brief biography of him would be published next to his photo in recent years, it was better.

Lack of Contents

"Maturity Behind bulwark" proved a good book, but some points have been dropped. “Contents” is one of the most important parts of each book, but this book does not a list. There is not also a list of symbol. The "Mention" which is written by the authors is a short text about the publication of the book and on interviews days with the book's narrator. The ''Introduction'' was written by Iman KafaieMehr, the narrator of the book. Interestingly, in "Mention" and "Introduction" parts, like the chapters of the book, the language is plain and intimate. In part of the "Introduction" it is written: "War is the worst thing, but inside it is full of beauty and ugliness, goodness and badness, and good and evil; it's all happening together. You can see both at the same time and taking advice. The war made us a man sooner than our age

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Illustrative Photos

The photos speak well, so that there is no need to speak. It is just enough to turn the pages. In the turning pages you first be wondered. Surely to tell yourself: "How children were him?" it was real [he was a child]. Ravi although was fourteen years old, but part of eight years sacred defense was undertaken by the adolescents. They carried on their shoulders hardships of the war. Photos also tell about the story. The story begins in early adolescence and will be continued to masculinity.

Photos have both image description and introduction of people in the photos in order from left to right. About the "Photos" there is only one statement; the first photo at pages 258 and 259 is repeated exactly. Photo in page 260 is the same picture, but with another photo description: "Haft Tappe headquarters of Special corps of twenty-five Karbala, our platoon commander who was departed heavenward on January 1988 in Al-Faw / second from right is martyr Rahman Safar." It seemed which this photo and its description are released mistakenly.

A Memory; A Disgruntled Driver!

For any inconvenience has taken his parents' consent. In the last minutes of deployment he was also challenging his parent but when taking over to the bus, driver behavior discouraged him:

''We rode bus to move to the area. The first thing that drew me was the driver looking. When the bus moved, one of my friends got up to open the bus roof hatch to lessen heat inside the bus. The driver in a virulence and aggressive way said: "bloody! Do not open it! All our misfortunes are for the sake of you! ... "We were shocked. This statement was burdensome for all of us. For a moment, a terrible silence swept all the bus. Two or three kids had gun. One of them got up and took his gun arm on the driver's side. "He said, in the name of Fatima, if you speak a word more, I shot you! These are going to war for you! For the sake of your honor..."

There was not calming down. He had shed its poison.

Why? We were abandoned our parents, had endured all the problems and were going, because of the people, for the sake of the same driver, because of ... What was it for? And influx of thousands of questions that sink in our skin like needle!"