How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi
Rating: 
Read before: No
Ownership: Christmas gift from my husband
Spoiler free review: Yes
As someone who has been stopped at the border simply because my residence permit is unusual, this was a book that caught my eye and also, a little bit of contemporary can be fun every now and then. As a disclaimer, reading contemporary is not my thing and I am picky about it.
Our story starts at the airport as Amir and his family had a confrontation on the airplane back from Italy. So we get the story told in an interesting format which is probably why I enjoyed it as much as I did. Basically you get a round robin of Amir and his family talking to the interrogators about what happened during the flight and what led them to that point in time.
The story is basically about Amir impuslvely moving to Italy and living his best gay life, but it isn’t just about figuring out his sexuality and experimenting, but it is a huge step in his own independence and trying to figure out what he wants from his life, and if italy maybe is a permanent thing rather than just a phase.
Now, overall, I enjoyed the stroy as it is a coming out and growing up story, but I was a bit put off by how easily Amir just manages to make hisi life in Italy, rent a flat and you know, set his new life, because my own experiences of moving to the UK I know, not italy, but still) were very different and it was a bit weird how lackadaisy he was about it.
Otherwise it was interesting to see him explore the city, and find other people who slowly teach him new things and how he encounters different personalities and has to decide what he will risk and who he wants to keep around and not, while at the same time we are learning about his own home life and how much his family cares for him but they do it in their very own way rather than the “American” way and therefore Amir doesn’t realise how much they love him.
Still, I enjoyed it. It was a quick read due to the format plus the adventures in Italy felt decadent and just nice to read for the most part of it. I’d say it is worth reading if you’re into stories that break the usual format of novel telling and you are into love stories and coming out stories.