Reporter writes about time in Iran
"Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran"by Azadeh Moaveni is more than just its hardline Islamic rulers and their alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons.
In her memoir "Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran," American-born Azadeh Moaveni takes readers to places they rarely venture: the world of Iranian women and dinner parties, of social norms and official etiquette.
Moaveni, a Time magazine reporter, shows a keen sense for detail in chronicling modern Iran from the time just before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election in August 2005 until her departure two years later, as a mother and wife. Throughout her journey, she tries to make sense of the increasingly rigid regime and see it objectively, even when she is emotionally overwhelmed.
The daughter of Iranian immigrants who settled in California, Moaveni was able to report in Iran, but only with a government minder, whom she calls Mr. X.
Moaveni opens a door to a closed society. The memoir is full of colorful insights into life in Iran for someone who makes unconventional choices, such as living with her boyfriend and getting pregnant before marriage — a crime punishable by execution.
"Had we lived in New York or Berlin or any of a number of other places, this would not have been cause for alarm. But in the Islamic Republic of Iran, one could not be unmarried and pregnant. That social category of individual simply did not exist," she writes.
The personal anecdotes and details about how she copes with Iranian life draw the reader in even when the writing isn't very poetic. She uses events in her own life to expand the lens to how other people in Iran deal with the similar situations. She writes her memoir like a journalist. It's precise and not flowery, but it's never sterile.
She sets a welcoming and intimate tone in her book, embracing readers as her friends.
The writing gets reflective when she imagines how it would be to have a country where all Iranians lived together and weren't scattered across the continents.
Moaveni also co-wrote the book "Iran Awakening" with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, and "Honeymoon in Tehran" includes glimpses into Ebadi's life.
"Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran" (Random House, 336 pages, $26).
