Equal of the Sun

By Anita Amirrezvani; Simon Vance (Narrator)
(Tantor Media, Compact Disc, 9781452607825)

Publication Date: June 2012

Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover, Paperback, Compact Disc, MP3 CD

Categories: General

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the June 2012 Indie Next List

“Persia in the 16th century is rife with intrigue and danger. The Shah has died without a successor, and his daughter and protege, Princess Pari Khan Kanoom, maneuvers to secure a position of power in a man's world. She is aided by the eunuch, Javaher, a man who loves the princess more than life. Based on historical figures, this sumptuous portrayal of the royal court of Persia is the story of a woman who took risks and made her mark on history.”

-- Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books, Sunriver, OR

Description

From the author of the internationally bestselling The Blood of Flowers comes a compelling, gorgeously crafted tale of power, loyalty, intrigue, and love in the royal court of sixteenth-century Iran.

About the Author

Anita Amirrezvani is the internationally bestselling author of The Blood of Flowers, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize, and a former staff writer and dance critic for the San Jose Mercury News and the Contra Costa Times. She is currently an adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Simon Vance, a former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader, is a full-time actor who has appeared on both stage and television. He has recorded over four hundred audiobooks and has earned over twenty Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, including one for his narration of Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. A twelve-time Audie finalist, Simon has won Audie Awards for The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan. Winner of the 2008 Booklist Voice of Choice Award, Simon has also been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009.

Conversation Starters from ReadingGroupChoices.com

How would you describe life within an itinerant tribe? What intrigues you about this kind of existence? Would you be cut out for the harsh realities of desert life?

How would you describe the interactions between the tribes? How do they settle disputes? Is there any common ground that the tribal groups share? Were you surprised by the diversity or sheer number of tribes in this region?
How would you describe the interactions between the tribes and the “civilized” culture? What are the challenges or injustices that they endure? What is lost in translation, and why are there so few voices of support? For example, do you think the Baluchs had a fair trial? Or, do you think the conflict with bureaucracy snuffed out the Kharot tribe and their flock?
“The pressures were inexorable. One set of values, one way of life had to die. In this clash, the state, as always proved stronger than the individual. The new way of life triumphed over the old” (page 52). How is life changing for the tribes with modernization accelerating around them? What will be lost when their culture is extinguished—or do you think their way of life can be preserved?
What have you learned about this remote corner of the world? Have you researched or looked into the geopolitical importance of the FATA today?
What is Tor Baz’s influence on the events and people that inhabit the book? What is his journey like, and what events shape him? Is he a sympathetic, likable character? Where are his alliances?
How does honor—and revenge—play a role in the lives of the tribesmen?
Why do you think the author switched to a first person voice for the story “The Guide”? The speaker is a foreigner to the region, and is in search of something profound. What is it? Does he find it?
What roles are open to women in tribal life? How would you describe the female characters’ lives?
Did you enjoy the vignette style of this book? Do you think the author was successful in painting a vibrant, energetic world through such small windows? Did you find yourself transported?
In a way, this book tells an important “nonfiction” story through a fiction lens. What importance does the role of fiction play in helping us understand the world?

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