Only This Beautiful Moment

Only This Beautiful Moment is a captivating and thoughtful novel exploring the lives of three men from the same Iranian family. It's an inter-generational story about family, secrets, identity, love and acceptance - and is an absolute gem of a book.

The novel starts in 2019 Los Angeles where Moud, a 17 year gay teenager, is about to head to Tehran with his father to see his ill grandfather for the first time. The Tehran he finds isn't what he was expecting, and family secrets and history will change him.

Tehran in 1978 is home to 18 year old Saeed (Moud's father), a promising engineering student who defies his parents' wishes and attends protests against the government. This decision has a life-changing impact on him, as he is sent to the USA for his own safety to stay with a women, Margaret, his grandmother - who he has never heard of - and leaving behind the woman he loves. And it's in Los Angeles that Bobby (Saeed's father) is coming to terms with his sexuality and love of his friend Vincente, as his mother orchestrates getting a contract with MGM Studios for her son - no matter the cost to him.

What an amazing and powerful novel. It drew me in from the start and I didn't want to put the book down. I enjoyed the format of the novel, which is told from the three main characters' perspectives, as it flowed between them. Each is of a similar age in their sections, all on the cusp of adulthood and dealing with different situations, with each story revealing more about the secrets that separate and link them and the events that have shaped them.

Also through each character's story you discover elements of social and political history at the time their story is set. From a comparison of gay life in Los Angeles and Tehran via Moud, an insight to the protests around the 1978 Iranian revolution, and gay life at the time. Bobby's story shares the realities of being gay in 1930s America as well as providing a window into the world of the MGM studio system. All are fascinating and informative elements being told by other minor characters.

The characters in the story, both major and minor, are diverse and so well written. I was enthralled by Moud's cousin Ava in Tehran - a vivacious, life-loving and protective young lady. Also Margaret, Bobby's mother, such a calculating and determined person just riled me. I wanted to dislike her but as the story flowed between time periods, I certainly became more understanding of her.

This is what I particularly enjoyed about the novel; as the three stories are told during a 70 year, non-linear time period, I was able to see the characters change and develop over time, learning what happened in their past to make them the people we first meet. While there are family secrets, what is also clear is that there is love between the family members - though it's not always clear to them!

The writing is beautiful and felt almost poetic in places, not least when poetry is being discussed and lines of poetry feature in the text. The descriptions are also so visceral at times: 'The longing inside me feels like a physical object. It gnaws at me. I wave to him wistfully.' The references to poetry and food had me researching to find out more about them! A glossary would enhance the reader experience, especially for those of us unfamiliar with these terms and poets, adding an extra bit of icing onto an already stunning literary cake. Only This Beautiful Moment  is a book to savour and lose yourself in. I hope you enjoy every moment of reading this exception novel.

432 pages / Reviewed by Stephen Leitch, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+