The Konar and the Apple

“It’s all about the story.”

So begins Babak Hodjat’s collection of tales in The Konar and the Apple.

An eight-year-old boy assigned the task of throwing flowers during the Shah’s visit. A teenager in boot camp eager to catch episodes of a popular Japanese TV show. An adult coming to the Unites States, ready to make his mark in the tech world. 

These are just some of the personal experiences shaping Hodjat’s intimate narrative of a boy growing up in post-revolutionary Iran. The stories paint a picture of a middle-class, westernized boy experiencing all the common—and uncommon—adventures of childhood and self-discovery.

Blending both humor and insight, The Konar and the Apple transcends culture to celebrate the fun, innocence, and anticipation of growing up that unite us all.

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“We rarely learn the back stories of today’s technology leaders – but here Babak Hodjat eloquently, entertainingly and compellingly recounts a coming-of-age journey through war, revolution... and love.”

- David Rowan, Founding Editor-in-Chief, WIRED UK and author of Non- Bullshit Innovation

“What makes these coming-of-age stories of innocence and wonder so compelling is that they are told against the backdrop of growing up in the Islamist Republic of Iran. Hovering just behind the gentle banter of teenage boys at play are the regime’s tentacles reaching everywhere, even to the narrator’s hair, but also tearinga tight-knit family asunder.”

- Micha X. Peled, Award-winning independent filmmaker, The Globalization Trilogy: STORE WARS, China Blue, Bitter Seeds