Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat

Marina is a young girl growing up in an uncertain Iran. During her lifetime she has seen the fall of the Shah, the rise of a theocracy, and a revolution that would change her life. Her family are refugees from the Russian revolution, so they know how violent they can become. Her life has been plagued with violence, as she recounts the story of how her first love had died in support of the revolution. Later she is sentenced to serve a life sentence in the dreaded prison of Evin (Iranian Alcatraz. From their, her life becomes completely mercurial. The whole book is written in an interesting fashion, as it goes from her experiences in prison to her past experiences. Eventually the two stories merge, and bring forth the ending.
The only thing I can say about this book is that it seems very biased. I understand all that Marina has gone through, both physically and emotionally. But her frustration seems to be placed on the Islamic community as a whole. Her explanations of Islamic customs, as she refers to them, such as forced hair covering and limitation of womens' rights are not in Islamic law, but they are a perversion created by the Iranian government. Her explanations are also very misguided. Not being a Muslim, I would not expect her to understand some of the more controversial topics in Islam, such as the act of polygamy. Polygamy is only legal in Islam IF the other wife agrees to the marriage by her own will, and she is treated equally as the other wife. Also, during Muhammad's time, polygamy was used by the Sa'haba (Followers of Muhammad) only to save someone from a worse fate. They married slaves, or poor women to bring them higher unto the social ladder. Also the concept of temporary marriage where the woman has no rights is not an Islamic law at all, it is an Iranian (Persian origins) tradition. All in all it is a very good book, but is often a bit inaccurate.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

This book is the story of a man who finds many souring qualities in his life, and meets his old professor from college, Morrie Schwartz, who has been diagnosed with ALS. ALS is a disease that slowly deteriorates the nervous system's ability to control muscular functions in the body, eventually leading to total paralysis, which is also death. There is no cure. Morrie and Mitch reflect on their lives and how well they were spent, and Mr. Schwartz showed Albom that life is best spent without a negative look on it.

Personally, I feel like I have no more to write on this book. I heard about it when I was in seventh grade, and finally felt like picking it up. Sure it was nonfiction but, it seemed a bit boring. I respect Mr. Albom's story and it is somewhat heartwarming, but I guess it just wasn't a good read for me.