Honeymoon In Tehran

Honeymoon In Tehran by Azadeh Moaveni

This book ran counter to my expectations. I had expected an easy read with clear road signs. What I read is much more complex and interesting. It opened a society that had been closed to me and where the majority of information I received about Iran was through the local or national media. In other words, I dutifully paid attention when I heard the word "nuclear".

At first, I found her writing style to be difficult to read. I was unfamiliar with Persian or Arab words and wished that she included an index of definitions or pronunciations. That being said, she grabs with her attention to detail and the ability to show the mundane as the complex. I was drawn into her dail decision making, the farmer's market that she frequents, the foods that she eats. I was placed her world of wearing manteau's and scarfs, being pregnant and giving birth a world away from her own birthplace, and more importantly her love for her family and her work. This book details two years of living in a Iran, a place that is not always welcoming to journalists (her profession) and it gives everyday Iranian in life in great, exhuberant detail.

This is a must read and I hope you enjoy it.