Customer Reviews

Returning to Iran

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If you would like to know how contemporary Iranians think and live, Returning to Iran is an excellent entrée. In this collection of well-written and compelling essays, Sima Nahan makes use of her successive trips to Tehran over the past quarter century to reflect on the history, culture, and customs of contemporary Iranians. Her wide-ranging subjects include a young taxi driver who supports Ahmadinejad, irrepressible Iranian women from all parts of the political spectrum, and two men of letters who cope in their own ways with being caught in the cross-fire of cultural upheaval. Ms. Nahan reflects on the importance of Hafez and Khayyam to Iranian culture, examines the rhetoric of right-wing publications, and touches on the symbolism of the color black and martyrdom in Iranian society. Couched in her intelligent and often irreverent voice, this book unobtrusively conveys a great deal of information; my overall impression was that of having stayed up many nights chatting with a particularly interesting and knowledgeable friend. With this collection of her essays, Sima Nahan has given us an insightful, enduring, and engaging portrait of the Iranian people.