Summary

In Chapter 6, “The Gods of Genetics,” Kimiâ thinks back to her biology classes. She has forgotten many of the words in Persian. She reflects that when people ask immigrants to integrate, they are asking them first to disintegrate. Kimiâ is inseminated. She think backs to her and Pierre’s meeting with the psychologist charged with assessing the legitimacy of their relationship and their desire to have a child. Kimiâ admits that she is wary of “armchair psychology” (117), something that she does not feel in Persian. The doctor asks the couple how they feel about Pierre’s HIV-positive diagnosis.

With Sara pregnant a third time, Darius has begun to hope for a boy. Darius is ashamed of this desire. One day, he even goes into a children’s store. Sara, however, does not want a boy.

Kimiâ gives a history of the 1920 coup, and...