I Eat My Heart Out Alone.

The Revolution Taught Me Not To Be Consoled By Other People's Miseries, Not To Feel Thankful Because So Many Others Had Suffered More. Pain And Loss, Like Love And Joy, Are Unique And Personal; They Cannot Be Modified By Comparison To Others.

When I Was Teaching At The University Of Tehran We Were Struggling Against The Implementation Of The Revolution Rules.

I Believe That It Is Only Through Empathy, That The Pain Experienced By An Algerian Woman, A North Korean Dissident, A Rwandan Child Or An Iraqi Prisoner, Becomes Real To Me And Not Just Passing News. And It Is At Times Like This When I Ask Myself, Am I Prepared - Like Huck Finn - To Give Up Sunday School Heaven For The Kind Of Hell That Huck Chose?

Visa For Avalon Is A Testament To The Power Of Fiction. It Illuminates The Truth At The Heart Of What Is Commonly Called Reality. This Account Of Lives Transformed And Ruined By The Triumph Of A Totalitarian Rule Is A Timely Reminder Of How Moral And Intellectual Laziness And Apathy Can Pave The Road To The Reign Of Terror Brought On By Such A System.

You Need Imagination In Order To Imagine A Future That Doesn't Exist.