The Blindfold Horse: Memories of a Persian Childhood [Paperback]

Shusha Guppy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2004

Decades before the Iranian revolution of 1979, which placed the country under a repressive religious rule, Shusha Guppy grew up in a Persia delicately balanced between traditional Islamic life and the transforming forces of westernization. In this eloquent memoir, Guppy recreates the lost world of her childhood before the oil boom and the eventual overthrow of the Shah. Her lively tales about relatives, friends, music, drama, religious holidays, and celebrations bring to life a vanished society caught between the oppressive but stable strictures of the past and the unsettling freedoms of the future.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Guppy evokes the magic, cultural tradition and social fabric of her youth in Iran, recalling her community through warmly humorous yet unsentimental anecdotes.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Praise for previous editions:
"One of the best books of the 20th century...Stands comparison with Out of Africa."--John Train, author and co-founder of The Paris Review
"A rare and unusual book, which tells a rare and unusual story, and tells it with trues feeling."--Anita Brookner
"A gifted weaver of tales with an artist's eye for sketching characters in context, Guppy evokes the magic, cultural traditions and social fabric of her growing-up years, which were greatly affected by both Reza Shah's efforts to westernize Persia in the 1920s..."--Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Tauris Parke Paperbacks (July 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1850434018
• ISBN-13: 978-1850434016
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorful and vivid!, January 30, 2003

By 

PuppyTalk "BlackMutt" (NY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Blindfold Horse, The (Paperback)

Until I read this book, I virtually knew nothing about what the life is really like in Iran, even though I've read a few books from the country. The author starts with her family's origin, so to speak, by telling stories of her great-great-grand father who became Haji, and goes down the generations to her own time. Through anecdotes and episodes, she tells of bazaar, social life of different social status people, old remedies for certain sicknesses, how they educated their children, how they treat girls differently from boys, what it is like to be a servant, what roles mullahs play in politics and religion, how some tried to westernize the country and how others opposed, what it was like in the first movie theatres, how they tried to cool themselves during the summer heat, etc, etc.
As you read, the life in Iran becomes very vivid and alive in your heart, as if you yourself grew up with the author, and you start understanding the Persian people and the way they are in very positive ways.
She mentions about religions and politics, as her family has always been one of the powerful and well-respected families which played important roles in religions and politics of the country. 1979 revolution was certainly a bitter experience for many Iranian people. She definitely regrets about it also. But she talks about it rather objectively which allows the reader to see the situation with positive attitude.
Some of the anecdotes are hilarious, unimaginable to some of us. You will find out what they use to treat laringitis and bronchitis, their best remedy which outworks any of the western medicine, or who is the best bone fixer when you broke your bone, or what it is like to be married at age 12.

Very very colorful book. You will find a lot of things you have never imagined, and you will gain a lot of knowledge and love for Iranian people. Recommend you 100%!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SO GLAD IT IS BACK IN PRINT, June 29, 2001

By 

I-Love-Amazon "I-Shop-Amazon" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blindfold Horse, The (Paperback)

I am so glad to see this book back in print. I bought this book for my daughters, my mother and many of my friends, and I had given out my copy to another friend. The author is so honest in telling her story. I have been looking for the sequel to this story and I will appreciate any information on other books this author has.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blindfold Horse : Memories of a Persian Childhood, December 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blindfold Horse, The (Paperback)

Absoutely wonderful. Witty, deep, clear imagery, captivating language. Historically accurate with utmost sincerity and absolutely no political/cultural biases.

You will experience Ms. Guppy's life while reading this book, and will miss her when finished reading it. The sweet memory of this book stays for years.