Intergenerational Memory in Children of the Jacaranda Tree

Abstract

Sahar Delijani’s Children of the Jacaranda Tree (2013) is a powerful example of testimonial literature. The story, while fictional, is based on Delijani’s parents’ experiences in prison during the 1980s. The novel gives full articulation to a traumatic moment in Iranian history: the clandestine mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. Delijani’s sensitive portrayal of this dark period places responsibility on subsequent generations to remember in order to begin the process of national healing and as a call for justice and reparations. The importance of passing stories from one generation to the next so that people remember the sacrifices of previous generations for the ideals of democracy and equality is the focus of this chapter.

This chapter emerged out of an inspiring conference organized by Dr. Peyman Vahabzadeh at the University of Victoria in June 2015. My thanks to all the participants at that conference for stimulating conversations and for their thoughtful feedback on my chapter. I am especially grateful to Peyman for his patience as I worked on this chapter and for all his hard work in seeing this project to fruition.