This was a really impactful read. It was devastating, heartbreaking but also filled with determination and human courage. Reading it as a young queer person it reminds me that there is still so much work to be done to protect queer people and to share the stories of those around the world

The Ayatollah's Gaze is an intimate portrait of what it means to grow up and live as a gay man under the Iranian regime, with all the beauty of a vibrant community finding joy and resilience in each other, and all the fear that the criminalisation of homosexuality brings with it. This is a love letter to the community, the living and the dead, that does not shy away from the dark but is much more concerned with the light - Parsa offers a reflective look through his life and all the meaningful connections that shaped his experience of finding himself in Iran, the friendships, romances, and losses that defined him in spite of the looming threats of the regime.

Parsa (pseudonym) walks us through what it meant to live under an oppressive and hateful regime and its politicians, especially as a gay man.
Parsa’s voice is so authentic, funny and engaging that you see how he survived those circumstances with his resilience, wit and resourcefulness.
That is not to say that the absolutely horrifying aspects of Ayatollah’s gaze is not in this book. It is everywhere. Except for Parsa’s and the others’ free minds and their fight for their rights, freedom and liberty.