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Summary
Chapters 36-39
Chapter 36: Through a Wormhole
The day after he and Sohrab quarrel, Darius watches as Shirin packs food to take to the grieving Rezaei family. Darius considers how hard it must be for his mom to live with two depressed people. Darius and his dad then go out to walk around Yazd, and Stephen points out the different architectural features he especially likes. As they stare up at minarets, Darius feels he understands his father more than ever. Back at the house, Mamou makes Darius’s favorite meal for dinner. She and Babou also give Darius a couple of gifts: an antique teapot and a pair of cleats just like Sohrab’s, but in blue. Aware of Darius’s misery, Babou assures him that Sohrab is just upset about his father.
As Darius and his mom pack for their trip back to America the following day, Darius finds the Team Melli jersey and realizes he had used it as a kind of mask to appear Persian. Darius tells his mother he’ll miss Babou and Mamou, but he is happy to be going home. Later, as Darius reads the Lord of the Rings appendix at the kitchen table, Mamou interrupts to tell him that Sohrab has come to say goodbye. Looking sorrowful, Sohrab enters saying he was worried because Darius hadn’t come over today. Darius says he wasn’t sure if Sohrab wanted to see him, and Sohrab apologizes, explaining he didn’t mean what he said and that Darius is his best friend.
Chapter 37: The Cracks of Doom
Darius and Sohrab walk to the park where they had first sat on the roof, and Darius tells Sohrab he’s sorry about his dad. Sohrab presents Darius with a framed photo of them laughing on Nowruz, and Darius wonders if Sohrab will ever smile again. Sohrab tells Darius he envies him for always being genuinely himself, not caring what people think. Darius is surprised to hear this, which Sohrab notices, prompting him to say he wishes Darius could see himself as he sees him. After they share a long hug goodbye, Darius realizes he loves Sohrab.
The next morning, Darius reads his economics book on the couch while Laleh cuddles up to him. Stephen sees Darius and tells him he’s proud that Darius is doing his homework. Then Uncle Jamsheed arrives to drive the family to the airport, and it is time for the family to say goodbye. Mamou tells Darius she loves him, and Babou thanks Darius for coming and tells him to take care of his dad. Darius hugs Babou, and Babou hugs him back and says he will miss him. Shirin cries deeply as she says goodbye to her dad, likely for the last time. Darius watches Mamou and Babou from the car as it pulls away.
Chapter 38: The Best of Both Worlds
Back in the U.S., Darius thought he’d feel transformed, but he feels much the same. He watches Star Trek with Stephen, but Laleh doesn’t watch with them anymore now that they’re back home. Darius opts to continue using the messenger bag his dad gave him, and his mom buys a new seat and wheels for his bike. He returns to school to find out that wild rumors have been flying about where he has been. At lunch, Darius gives a sack of souvenirs to Javaneh, and she asks about his trip, though he struggles to explain it well. During gym class, Coach Fortes has the class play soccer, and Darius is one of the best players. Trent calls Darius names, but Chip defends Darius and gives him a fist bump. Darius is taken aback by this gesture from Chip. After class, Coach Fortes approaches Darius to praise his playing and asks him to try out for the team. After a pause, Darius says he’ll consider it.
Chapter 39: Darius the Great
After school, Darius finds Chip waiting for him at the bike rack and checks to make sure his bike hasn’t been vandalized before saying hello. Chip asks about the trip and about Darius’s grandfather. Acting fidgety, Chip says that Darius seems different and asks if he brought back some of his ancestor Darioush. That night, Stephen and Darius watch Star Trek together. Later, when Darius gets up to make tea, his dad sets out two mugs. It’s become their nightly ritual to drink tea and discuss their day. As they drink, Stephen tells Darius not to let Coach Fortes pressure him and says that he approves of Darius’s decision to take an unpaid internship at Rose City Teas. Stephen and Darius take their meds and make more tea. Laleh joins and takes a cup of tea without adding her usual ice cube, and Shirin enters saying the tea smells like Babou’s garden. The family drinks tea together, enjoying a comfortable silence. When Stephen asks Darius if he is okay, Darius says he is feeling great.
Analysis
In the final chapters of the novel, Darius begins to see his mother in a new light as he reflects on her interactions with her own parents, Mamou and Babou. Shirin is very much her father’s daughter, a no-nonsense, not-always-sensitive, capable woman in charge. Yet, Darius realizes she lives with two severely depressed men, and she patiently helps them navigate their illnesses without support from anyone. As Darius watches Shirin hug her parents, he imagines their many years of ups and down as a family and realizes his mother’s strength in forging a new life in America even when she wasn’t always confident it was the best decision.
The birthday gifts that Mamou and Babou give Darius on the last day of his trip demonstrate how much they have learned about Darius, who he is, and what he likes. The gift of soccer shoes shows that they want him to keep playing, and that they want him to have something that connects him to his friend Sohrab. His grandparents also apparently know that his favorite color is blue. The finely crafted teapot shows that they understand Darius not only enjoys making tea, but also pays close attention to all the small details that turn tea-making into an experience.
Packing his belongings allows more time for Darius to reflect on the important lessons he’s learned on his trip. The Team Melli jersey causes Darius to reflect on his attempts early in the trip to appear more Persian even when he didn’t feel like he was. This idea of being or feeling two conflicting ways emerges again and again throughout the story. Darius can’t square that he is both visiting his ethnic homeland but is also a tourist, that he knows everything about Farsi but can't actually speak the language, that he knows his extended family but still feels like they are strangers, and that Babou thinks he’s a great man yet also criticizes him nonstop. As they drink tea, Mamou tells Darius that she wishes Darius lived in Yazd but is also happy that he lives in America. Darius learns from these interactions that family relations often involve balancing conflicting feelings.
In the final scenes of the novel, Darius says he doesn’t feel transformed, yet his classmates and teachers comment on the differences they can see in his behavior. Chip feels that Darius is a different person and Coach Fortes is dying to get him on the school soccer team. Darius now believes Javaneh should make the effort to visit home, even though he himself had questioned Mr. Apatan’s advice early in the book. These scenes emphasize how much the trip has transformed Darius and his outlook on life even if he can’t recognize it. At home, Darius is able to be more honest about his feelings with his father, and Stephen is able to offer Darius advice without trying to control his son’s choices or protect him from every possible outcome. Darius no longer needs rides from Stephen, but they still spend more time together, showing how much their relationship has been repaired. Darius once needed to be in dire straits to ask his father for a ride, but now he views Stephen as a friend.
