My Beloved General

The book My Beloved General is written by Leila Helen Khazaei and published by Barkeh Khorshid Publishing. Leila Helen Khazaei in this book narrates her own life story and recalls the sweet memories formed through her life and her family’s relationship with their beloved general, her grandfather Mohammad Ali Khazaei, and her French grandmother, Mami Helen. She also depicts the customs and culture that emerged following the marriage of an Iranian man with a foreign woman in this family. General Mohammad Ali Khazaei, the eldest son of Amir Lashkar Hossein Agha Khazaei, commander of the Eastern Army and a close ally of Reza Khan Pahlavi, was born in 1287 Hijri. Part of the book reads: “It is Christmas, and with Mom, Dad, Mami Helen, and Papi Ali, I am riding in Papi Ali’s car heading towards Dr. Bahrami’s house on Villa Street. Dr. Bahrami and his wife, Madame Bahrami, who is Swiss and French-speaking, are close friends of Mami Helen and Papi Ali and have invited us for a Christmas lunch. The cityscape through the car window is strange. It seems the city is not usual. It feels like I am watching a cinematic film from the back seat of Papi Ali’s car. The street is crowded, very crowded. Everywhere is full of people, angry people! People are blocking the traffic. Cars have no way to move, stopped and watching the people. The people are throwing their clenched fists in the air and shouting loudly. Their shouts are unclear. My ears and eyes are terrified and surprised. I ask, “What are they saying? Why are their hands clenched?” Mom answers, “They are chanting slogans!” “What slogans?” Mom says, “Just chanting and raising their clenched fists.” “What do the slogans say?” They say, “Death to the Shah.”