Man of My Time

By: Dalia Sofer

Narrated by: Navid Navid

Set in Iran and New York City, Dalia Sofer's second novel, Man of My Time, tells the story of Hamid Mozaffarian, who is as alienated from himself as he is from the world. After decades of ambivalence about his work for the Iranian, Hamid travels to New York, where he encounters his estranged family and retrieves the ashes of his father - who was cremated despite his religion - to honor his dying wish to be buried in Iran.

Tucked into a mint tin in his pocket, the ashes propel Hamid into an excavation - filled with mordant wit and bitter memory - of his lifetime of betrayal, and prompt him to trace his transformation from a precocious boy in love with marbles to a man who, on seeing his own reflection, is startled to encounter “an exquisite, indignant creature.” As he reconnects with his brother and others living in exile, Hamid is forced to confront his past, his failed marriage and his changed relationship with his daughter, the insidious nature of violence, and his entrenchment in a system that has for decades ensnared him.

Man of My Time explores variations of loss - of people, places, ideals, time, and self. This is a novel not only about family and memory, but also about the intertwining of captor and captive, country and citizen, and individual and heritage. With sensitivity and strength, Dalia Sofer, the best-selling author of The Septembers of Shiraz, conjures the interior lives of a generation pursued by the footprints of the past.

©2020 Dalia Sofer (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Immersive, lyrical, memoirist novel

This historical fiction reads like memoir succeeding in taking this a reader to times and places largely unfamiliar. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to see through this author’s eyes…,

Drew me right in

I wondered, but I struggle with names? Would I have trouble placing characters? My mind was put at rest right away. This story drew me in immediately. the writing is exquisite, the images unique and perfect.
They ultimately saw themselves as a Lost generation, Hameed and his brother. The story of the family is a tragic one, but so full of poetry, beauty, love and life. I love this book.