Customer Reviews

Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran

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For the past two years, I've been reading a great deal about the societies, politics, and cultures of contemporary Islamic countries. I admit I've become fascinated by the subject. Therefore, it was with great eagerness that I looked forward to reading Azadeh Moaveni's new memoir, "Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran." The book did not disappoint. When it arrived, I intended to just browse around for a few minutes and then set it aside for reading later when I had more time. But before I knew it, I was almost half-finished. Page after page, I found the book answering so many of the questions I had stockpiled in my brain over the years about contemporary Iran and Iranians. The book was a genuine eye-opener--an intriguing glimpse inside the social and political mind of a nation.

The book is a memoir covering two years in the life of an American-Iranian journalist sent to Iran by Time magazine to cover its politics and culture. The book starts in the late Spring of 2005, when the Iranian presidential elections were in full swing. Over the next two years, the book covers the rise of Iranian President Ahmadinejad and the successes and failures of his administration in the eyes of the populace. In the background, and with equal insight into the social and cultural pulse of the nation, Moaveni covers her own personal life. During this period, Moaveni navigates the Islamic cultural minefields of falling in love, moving in with her boyfriend, getting pregnant, and getting married in that order. All the while, she must deal with her creepy and intimidating government "political handler," Mr. X--the man assigned by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence to make sure that Moaveni's political reporting doesn't stray too far into areas that the government might find damaging. Eventually, Moaveni tests Mr. X beyond his breaking point and the book turns into a true-to-life thriller.

If you want to learn about the enigma that is life in modern Iran, this book would be a great start. However, be forewarned: the book assumes that the reader has a modest knowledge about contemporary Iranian political history. If you are not interested in politics and have little idea what has been happening in Iran over the past 35 years, then this book may not be appropriate. But if you've been following the political history of Iran in the news, this book will answer many of the questions you may have lurking behind the headlines. It is well-written, told from the heart, and unveils much that will give you hope and concern about the direction that Iran may take in the future.

This book is a truly excellent memoir. If you're looking for a memoir that details the struggles and censorship that modern Iranians (particularly women) are facing, it delivers. It is chock full of complicated patriotism, scathing social observations and balanced political commentary. But if contemporary romance is your thing, it has that too. The novel spans two years as President Ahmadinejad rises to power, and the author meets the love of her life. I won't spoil the ridiculous and creative ways in which she is oppressed and frankly harassed, but to say it isn't easy to start a family in Tehran.

It's obviously well-written, as Moaveni is an accomplished journalist and author. And for me, the best parts of Azadeh Moaveni's Honeymoon in Tehran are when her journalistic approach to her tale slips, and we are treated to her voice as a woman and a mom delivering the story's most powerful moments. Highly recommended!

Honeymoon in Tehran brings life to history I was only vaguely familiar with before. I never truly trust the media spin on international events, wondering what things are really like in faraway places. By weaving her personal narrative into these critical events of our times, Moaveni has helped me I better understand Iran's Muslim and Persian cultures, while letting me by privy to an inside view of how things unfold in a totalitarian state. Excellent read.

I was intrigued to be introduced to a place that, realistically, most US media presents in a fearful viewpoint. The author does illustrate with many examples that, as with all cultures, people are very much alike, trying to get ahead in the world making a better life for themselves and their families. But it almost comes across as viewing this behavior as selfish, that Iranians are indifferent to eroding freedoms, yet the author leaves the country for that very reason.

Most of the book is quite easy to read and entertaining, but the viewpoint is exclusively from the privileged upper middle class, almost to the point of bragging when digressing into the details of her wedding. And while the author is a writer for Time, she brushes aside in a couple sentences that speaking to a few people in Tehran purports to represent the views of the entire nation- at least the title of the book does not deceive this fact. At times, the reading gets laborious such as when pages are devoted to the nuances of finding an obstetrician, and yet the process was little different than would be encountered in other developed countries. It was hard to understand the point, and I found myself skipping paragraphs at a time.

In addition, much of the text deals with the author's ambivalence to Islam, again little of which has to do with Iran and simply her own spiritual journey. Interesting perhaps to some, and though she tries to link it with the religious aspects of an Islamic nation as a whole, the connection is weak.

The book as a whole does succeed in opening the door on a nation that most of us scarcely know, but unfortunately the reader must wade through too much mostly unrelated writing to reach it.

I read Azadeh Moaveni's second memoir with the same pleasure that I got from Lipstick Jihad. Ms. Moaveni is an exceptionally honest writer. She tells the reader precisely who she is, what she is feeling and where she stands. Her story reflects the ambiguity felt by thousands of Iranians who love their culture and their country, but have to put up with the challenges of living in the Islamic Republic. The memoir also provides a rare glimpse into the everyday workings of a Western journalist in Iran, and how social and political conditions shape reporting and work. The book will be a challenge for some, because it requires some previous knowledge of the history and society of the country to fully appreciate Ms. Moaveni's observations.

It is also important to note that, even though Ms. Moaveni tries hard to distance herself from her immediate family situation to present a broad picture of Iranian society, the truth is that she can not really escape from the privilieges that accord to the wealthy and respected family of her husband--things that, for example, allow her to hold a wedding reception with mixed company, serving champagne without government interference. This is exceptionally privileged behavior unavailable to 99% of Iranians (of course, many would not want to hold this kind of celebration anyway). The insights into the rigors of planning a modern wedding in Iran are wonderful in their ethnographic detail.

The book is also exceptionally useful as documentation of the first two years of President Ahmadinejad's term of office. The changes in restrictions on social behavior during this period are a precursor to the disturbances following the Presidential election of 2009. Reading this book will help any reader understand the growing public discontent during this period, even though Ms. Moaveni tries scrupulously to present a broad picture of Iranian society, including some very staunch conservative figures.

There are lovely little conceits in the book. Ms. Moaveni is continually tantalizing the reader with little references to exotic (for Americans) Iranian food. Knowing the delights of this cuisine myself, I was charmed by this subtle reference to the delights of the Iranian table.

I also appreciated Ms. Moaveni's observations on her own spirituality, and vascillating views toward religion. She is honest enough to contrast her own growing feeling about spirituality with her husband's somewhat jaded view of organized religion in Iran today (which interestingly sends him back to the study of an earlier spirituality--Zoroastrianism).

The narrow time focus of the book is a true gift. It presents a very precise snapshot of Iran during an important transitional period. I predict that historians will find this a rich account of a moment in time that will be seen to have portended future events in this most fascinating of nations.

Honeymoon in Tehran is a fascinating cultural and political portrait of modern day Iran eloquently portrayed through the lens of personal experience. Azadeh Moaveni's experienced journalistic voice easily explains many of the nuances of modern Iranian life, focusing on the concerns and desires of the country's youth that makes up more than 70% of the population. It is her eloquent personal voice, however, that is most engaging as she weaves a beautiful, textured story of finding love, pursuing a career amid very real dangers, and settling into life as a working new wife and mother. Ms. Moaveni deftly illuminates relevant current issues from Ahmadinejad's confounding election victory, to popular attitudes about Iran's support of Islamic militant groups, to the regime's policy on educating betrothed couples on the pleasures of sex.

You'll have so much fun accompanying Ms. Moaveni through her journey that you'll scarcely realize how much you've learned in the process. Honeymoon in Tehran grants a rare window into the mysterious, multi-layered country of Iran, enabling you to walk away with an enriched appreciation of a place so misunderstood in the West.

"Honeymoon in Tehran" is the poignant story of life in Iran under the Islamic fundamentalist regime and President Ahmadenijad. Azadeh Moaveni is an Iranian-American journalist who, after being raised in California by immigrant parents, covers stories in Iran for Time magazine. Living in Lebanon and working in Tehran, she falls in love with an Iranian and moves to Iran full-time. Azadeh's story chronicles not only the beginning of her marriage and birth of her child, but what these normal milestones look like in Iran. Because her background allows her to view her country through both a Western and an Iranian lens, the reader gets a full, well-rounded picture of life in Iran--- the oppression of the regime, the warm kinship of Iranian family structure, the difficulty of being a journalist in a country where censorship is rampant, and the beauty of ancient Persian culture. It is a multi-faceted picture of Iran that presents a more well-rounded snapshot than most books that hit American bookstores. Well-written and well-informed by the author's own expertise in Iranian culture and politics, it is without question a very worthwhile read.

The concept behind Honeymoon in Iran is the juxtaposition of the author's courtship and marriage to an Iranian man with the descent of Iran from the relative liberalism of Khatemi to the bleak conservatism of Ahmadinejad. Unfortunately it is all texture and little substance. There is little by way of new perspectives about the Iranian theocracy and the Iranian people, just a snapshot of a small slice of the upper middle class. If you are looking for careful analysis and deep thought about the future of Iran, this isn't your book. But it does provide an interesting glimpse of daily life in a small segment of Iranian society.

Honeymoon in Tehran is a memoir by Iranian-American journalist Azadeh Moaveni chronicling two years of her life living in Tehran and dealing with the complications of a government that restricts the freedoms of women and journalists (and especially women journalists). The book is a resource of world politics as Moaveni presents an insider's view of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rise to power. The story is even more compelling as Moaveni tells her own tale of falling in love. As she navigates Iranian wedding customs and the issues of pregnancy before marriage, the story becomes a personal one and her balance between factual and emotional writing is exceptional.

In many ways Moaveni's story is a wake-up call to be aware of things that Americans and other citizens of Western countries can take for granted - choice of dress, public playgrounds, sattelite TV, choice of children's names, uncensored internet access, freedom to associate with members of the opposite gender - and yet she paints a fair picture of Iranians in Tehran and refrains from playing the victim despite dire circumstances for her family and career. As a book that both educates and entertains, Honeymoon in Tehran is an excellent book club choice or a great read for anyone seeking a literary trip to Iran.

This book follows Azadeh Moaveni's life after she returned to Iran to chronical the government elections that produced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. Azadeh also falls in love and marries an Iranian man, she continues to work for Time magazine and as the new government takes shape to be even more brutal than the last, this book chronicles her efforts to report and keep herself out of trouble with the government. Azadeh is an amazing writer and I admire her immensely. She is brave and had a job to do, but when life in Iran became too dangerous after the birth of her son, it broke her heart to leave her country for the safety of her family. Azadeh is fascinatingly detailed in her writing, her work should be read by everyone who wants to understand why people in the middle east are so different from us. I am grateful to her for helping me to see and understand a bit better.