I HID MY VOICE by Parinoush Saniee

A heartbreaking family portrait revolving around a middle child who doesn’t speak.

As a result of that, Shahaab was being mocked and ridiculed by most of his family and his inability to speak was seen as a huge disappointment, especially by his father.

Even though he won’t speak, he understood and internalised the general belief around him that he was simply dumb and therefore invisible.

We better understand the psychological repercussions of these cruelties in different sections of the book which are narrated from Shahaab’s perspective. It’s hard not to feel a lot of sympathy for this child’s situation.

While most of the story takes places during Shahaab’s childhood, towards the end of the book, when he turned 20 years old, it became clear that the early treatment in his life had left a permanent mark on his adult life too.

Even though the speaking issues where only temporary and in fact just a young boy’s reaction to family tensions, what was drilled into him when he was young always stayed with him.

This is a story that reminds us just how necessary showing affection and being kind is.