Plot in French:

 

Dans les années 1960, l'Iran du chah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi est un pays politiquement divisé. Les failles sociales et politiques ne peuvent plus être ignorées et la contestation gronde. C'est dans ce contexte que va naître une belle amitié entre Roya et Shirine, deux lycéennes que tout sépare. Roya, fille d'une famille de notables, envie l'indépendance farouche de sa camarade. Mais Shirine garde ses secrets... Chacune de son côté, et de manière différente, va chercher à comprendre le sens de ce qui se passe autour d'elle et à définir son propre rôle dans les bouleversements en cours. Tout au long du roman, elles seront amenées à prendre des décisions qui peuvent à chaque moment entraîner leur perte.

 

Le climat menaçant de la crise qui précéda la révolution islamique pèse sur l'existence des personnages de ce roman où contexte politique, cheminement personnel et vie familiale sont inextricablement liés. Un récit poignant, plein de rebondissements et d'émotion, où amitié, poésie, répression, sacrifice et souffrance s'entremêlent. Sur la toile de fond d'une nation contrainte à rompre avec son identité profonde, Un ciel de coquelicots parle de culture, d'histoire et du pouvoir rédempteur de l'amitié et de l'amour.

 

Plot in English:

 

Sky of Red Poppies begins with an unusual friendship between two young women coming of age in a politically divided 1960’s Iran under rule of the Shah. As the story unfolds, the history and culture of their homeland takes on a life of its own.

 

 

Bio:

 

Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani (Zoe) says she was a dentist in another life! She attended Ferdowsi University in Iran and specialized in Pediatric Dentistry at London University, England. After more than two decades of practicing in the Chicago area and teaching at Northwestern University Dental School, she moved to California to follow her passion and be a full-time writer.

 

Zohreh is a poet/writer both in Persian and English. Her debut novel in English, Sky of Red Poppies, was selected by San Diego Public Libraries and KPBS as a One Book, One San Diego 2012. Her sophomore novel, The Moon Daughter has just been released. Ghahremani's first book, in Persian, Shareek-e-gham/Commiserator), came out in 2000.

An immigrant, Zoe draws heavily from her Iranian-American culture in her writing. Her work has won several other awards, including first place in the California Stories (2005), San Diego Book Awards (2004), and Best Fiction at Santa Barbara Writers Conference (2004). Hundreds of her articles and short stories have appeared in US and foreign publications. She is currently a columnist for Zan Magazine. Although Sky of Red Poppies was her first novel, it is now on the reading list for many high schools and colleges. In one radio interview, the author was asked what had contributed the most to such success? She responded with the translation of an old Persian poem, "A word that rises from one heart / has no choice but to land in another."
 

Zohreh is a frequent public speaker, and has been featured on Voice of America, KPBS, KIRN radio in Los Angeles, and Jazz Radio in San Diego and has been invited to speak at a number of universities including University of Chicago, Georgetown University, U.C. Berkeley, San Diego State University, UCSD, San Diego City College, and San Francisco State University. In addition to speaking about her writing, Ghahremani is a motivational speaker on how to pursue your dreams, and shares the experience that helped her to reach a seemingly impossible goal.

 

When not writing, Zoe enjoys gardening and painting, for which she has held several shows in California. For more information please visit www.zoeghahremani.com