Overview

In 1980, as the world is captivated by the Iranian hostage crisis, aspiring doctor Hesam drops out of medical school in Rome and returns to Iran to serve his country. A member of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, he becomes a prison guard in Ahwaz, assigned to investigate and interrogate political prisoners. The more he learns about ethnic and religious tensions, however, the more he finds the concept of revolutionary justice questionable. Hesam finds solace in speaking with a defiant young prisoner with whom he develops a passionate bond. But when Hesam discovers damning evidence about the detainee, he has to choose between his political ideals and his conscience in a country where same-sex love is violently condemned. On the Enemy's Side is contemporary historical fiction, inspired by real events during a tumultuous period preceding the Iran Iraq war. Baika has crafted a memorable cast of characters of divergent and conflicting political allegiances, all who struggle to do the right thing in a morally complicated world. Astutely crafted, meticulously researched, and emotionally engaging, On the Enemy's Side is a haunting modern classic about love during a civil war.

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9781734633726

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Reviews

On the Enemy's Side is a journey into a real historical drama of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, told through a prison cell. A breath-taking story about love and courage, it uncovers the world of Iran's ethnic and political diversity in the most intimate way. More crucially, the book is about finding an inner compass that leads through chaos, destruction and violence. With each sentence, one learns to be more historically aware, tolerant, courageous and loving. Heartbroken, a reader survives and thrives together with its protagonists, two outcasts who found themselves in the heart and hell of political turmoil and zeal, how to escape their own prejudices and hatred, starting a different kind of revolution. Botakoz Kassymbekova, historian and author of Despite Cultures In his powerful debut, On the Enemy's Side, Hamour Baika tells a necessary love story: Set against the backdrop of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980s Iran, he explores the complicated moral territory of a same-sex love between a political prisoner and interrogator. It's necessary because it's a story rarely told about gay men, especially in the Middle East during this time period. It's necessary because it's told with such urgency, beauty, and sensitivity. Baika layers in a hidden-and forbidden-history of gay men, giving those men a voice. John Copenhaver, award-winning author of Dodging and Burning

Author Information

Hamour Baika was born in Iran and lived in Ahwaz during his teen years. He wrote his first novella, a fan fiction piece about the alien creature E.T. at age 12. Baika has a master's degree in human rights. A painter and classical pianist, he now lives in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. On the Enemy's Side is his debut novel.

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