Ari Honarvar
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| Cover art of a Simorgh by the author |
"A magical journey to a world of mystical delights, enchantment, and revelation. It's a page-turner that goes deep into the nature of reality beyond perception" -Deepak Chopra, MD
Okay, who am I to out-blurb Deepak, but I'll try.
Never before have I read a novel that so brilliantly merges the real world with the mythical. Both of these worlds incorporate sadness and love, horrors and tenderness. Enter the world of Iran from the perspective of a young, irrepressible girl named Kimia who chafes against the sexist laws of her homeland. Follow her through her journey into the world of Attar and how his ancient stories and poems alter her life, both as a girl and then as an adult. Her story and all who are part of it will touch you deeply.
Her publisher, Forest Ave. Press, describes A Girl Called Rumi like this:
Kimia, a successful life coach, has made a career of running away from her past and living in the present moment. When her mother, who suffers from PTSD, wants to return to Iran to die, Kimia attempts to change her mind. Before she has a chance, though, Kimia collides with a mysterious bird who knocks her to the ground and releases a flood of memories. She begins reliving her life as a nine-year-old girl in war-torn Iran, including her friendship with a mystical storyteller who led her through the mythic Seven Valleys of Love. Haunted by her memories, Kimia decides to accompany her mother back to Iran, only to arrive in the midst of the Green Uprising in the streets. Against the backdrop of the election protests, Kimia begins to unravel the secrets of the night that broke her mother and produced the dangerous enemy now ready to take his revenge. She must choose between escaping or completing her unfinished journey through the Valley of Death to save her brother.
Ari’s critically acclaimed debut novel is a BookFest award winner, a Nautilus award winner, a Locus award finalist, a Foreword INDIES award finalist, and a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2022.
And now, let's get to know Ari a bit better.
Ari, before I ask you about yourself and your wonderful book, tell me about the Global Day of Dance for Freedom that you are part of?
We kicked
off the day on February 10th and since then we've received videos posted
by hundreds of people from 7 continents for Iranian protesters who are
risking their lives for freedom. As you may know, dancing is illegal in Iran
and a young couple was just sentenced to 10 1/2 years of prison for
dancing. So dancivists around the world keep dancing for their freedom and
for all Iranians who are not allowed to dance.
Clearly this is such a worthy project. To learn more visit Rumiwithaview.com
How much of Kimia's childhood mirror's your own?
Quite a bit—especially if we include the world of my childhood imagination. So much of the book is the dance between memories and imagination. I did a bit of research, too, to keep the timelines, descriptions of the place, and events somewhat accurate but because the work is fictional, I enjoyed the freedom of world-building without being too constrained. And at the end of the book, I talk about some of that process, some of the events that were from real life such as our neighbor’s birthday party that was raided by the morality police and a woman ended up having a seizure in our front yard and the armed men held us at gunpoint. We had a wall-sized library that allowed me to get lost in the world of literature and create my own sanctuary within my imagination.
Your use of words and descriptions of place are so beautiful throughout the book, for example: "I grabbed Reza's hand and we ran, giggles falling like scattered cherry blossoms behind us" (just had to say that).
Thank
you!
The Hoopoes that come up often in the story
are so pretty! 
Was backgammon really banned in Iran? Was it because it's a type of gambling?
Yes, it was. Also playing cards. It might be futile to venture into the perverted justification of fundamentalists who went to war on joy and even bright colors!
Now Ari, let's learn a bit about you.
Tell me about where you live and why you love it so much.
I live in San Diego. I love springtime here that shows up about mid-Feb—so many colorful blossoming trees and bright green vegetation. I love the ocean and clean air. I love Balboa Park with all the museums and gorgeous architecture. I love the Southern CA charm and how you can get good vegan food all over the place. I love my neighborhood with little old Spanish-style houses and lovely neighbors and friends.
Where were you living
when you were 7 years old? Were you still in Iran? Favorite memory? Worst?
Yes, I
lived in Shiraz until I was 14. My favorite memories are about passing as a boy
and all the privileges that came with that.
 |
| Ari passing as a boy. |
My worst memories are going to funeral after funeral (because of war, stress, and crackdown on dissidents).
Is there a book that
changed the way you look at life?
Hmmm. Every book I read changes my perspective—a little or a lot. And the self is a moving target so when I read a book again, I often have a different response to it than before too. One of the recent ones: How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett.
The Lorax
comes to mind
because it's a timeless story of humans and what they do/can do
with their non-human relatives.
What are the funniest or
most embarrassing stories your family tells about you?
One that
my mom likes to tell is when she came to pick me up from school during an air
raid. And rather than happening upon crying kids and chaos, she saw me with a
blowhorn as I entertained the whole school by making impressions of our
favorite TV characters. It's a scene from the book, too:)
The Simorgh, the legendary and benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology plays an important role in the story.
I met my beloved at Bookends café of Boulder bookstore. It's no longer there. We met for dinner that day at the Leaf Restaurant and had a lovely time. We will celebrate our 17th year together this October, Inshallah.
Is there a song, person,
or group that you listen to when you are feeling a bit down?
Many
childhood Persian songs. Soltan e Ghalbhais 
How would you say you are you different now than you were in your teens?
I'm much freer and more comfortable in my body. I can enjoy life fully. Anxiety is no longer a fixture in my being. As you can imagine, life was difficult as a child—8 years spent in war and oppression and then moving to the US without my parents, sister, and friends. It makes sense that it would take time/inner work to release the trauma, anxiety, and depression. As a teen, I couldn't enjoy myself fully because I was hypervigilant about the next traumatic event that would destroy me. |
| Shiraz, Ari's hometown in Iran. |
Is there something, perhaps, that people would be surprised to know about you?
I'm perhaps the only woman who's visited the Prophet Mohammad's grave in Saudi Arabia. Women aren't allowed but I pretended to be a boy. I was only 5, maybe my unconscious was preparing for what was to come post-revolution.
Is Taadon, your beloved hummingbird, still around?
Yes! I also wake up to the view of a lovely hummingbird khanom who has a nest outside of my kitchen window. I don't post videos of them with me anymore because people become tempted to put out hummingbird food but forget to be diligent about cleaning out the feeder and mold grows and kills the birds. A couple of years ago I came back from vacation to find one of my hummingbird friends dying on the sidewalk. The disease is called Hummers Candidiasis during which the hummingbird's tongue swells as a result of being infected by the mold in the dirty feeders. They die of starvation. They can't feed their babies and they die too.
How do you feel about “Independent Bookstores” and their role in your success?
Indie writers and indie bookstores have a beneficial symbiotic (mutualistic) relationship. We might be independent but we depend on one another. For me, getting my book on the shelves of independent bookstores is one way to gain exposure to readers who might not have otherwise heard of my work. Because they’re an integral part of the local community, they’re likely to host book clubs, events, and other activities that bring people together where authors connect with readers. They’re also more likely to stock and promote indie books than bigger chains. By supporting independent bookstores, indie authors like me are also supporting local communities and together we help keep the literary arts alive and thriving.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN
TIME
to any period from before
recorded history to yesterday,
be safe from harm, be
rich, poor or in-between, if appropriate to your choice,
actually, experience what
it was like to live in that time, anywhere at all,
meet anyone, if you desire, speak with them, listen to them, be with them.
When would you go?
1947
Where would you go?
Arunachala,
India.
Who would you want to
meet?
Ramana Maharshi.
We'd enjoy silence together. I heard about him in my late teens and he didn't interest me. But then I saw a photo of him and felt a resonance beyond words. Gandhi incidentally wanted to meet Ramana but his crew said no. Here's what Ramana said: 'Gandhi would like to come here but Rajagopalachari (Former Minister of Home Affairs of India) was worried about the consequences. Because he fears that he might go into samadhi (a state of intense concentration achieved through meditation) here and forget all about politics. That is why he gestured to the driver to drive on.'
And most importantly, why do you think you chose this time?
It was around the time that India gained independence from British rule through a non-violent revolution. But what particularly attracts me to that time and place is my desire for a period of silence in lovely surroundings in the company of someone who's all about silence.
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