Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: great maidan, Royal Mosque, Lutfullah Mosque, Chahar Bagh (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Elliot (An Unexpected Light) traveled to Iran and returned with this finely detailed, timely portrait of a country and culture precariously balanced between East and West, dark and light, integration and Armageddon. Whether careening around the smog and traffic clogged capital city of Tehran in a battered cab or crawling through the rubble-strewn ruins of Persepolis, capital of the ancient Persian kings, Elliot's keen eye, supple mind and compelling way with words captures the rich, complex, contradictory essence of Iran, its history and people. Everywhere he travels, Elliot explores a central question—will Iran, a country with a deep and abiding history of scientific innovation, fine art, high culture and beauty, step into modernity or will the revolutionary mullahs, the guardians and promoters of Islamic fundamentalism, take the country further down the road of isolation. In the cities, a culture of duality exists—behind closed doors, liquor flows freely, music is enjoyed and women are free to express themselves fully. On the streets, however, religious extremism rules, manifested by squads of bearded enforcers looking out for infractions of their version of Islamic law. With Iran so central in the news, this is a good read for the armchair traveler and amateur geo-political strategist alike. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

In this penetrating account of a series of journeys to Iran, Elliot reports on the "double life" of the Persians he meets, who unanimously denounce the ruling mullahs. One insists that you’re nobody in Iran if you haven’t been imprisoned; another rolls his eyes at the author’s obsessive trawling of mosques, protesting, "People will think I’m with a fanatic." The book is replete with historical arcana (such as the second-century Parthian tactic of catapulting jars of bloodsucking flies at enemies), ruminations on the "turbulent calligraphies" of Islamic architecture, and labyrinthine footnotes that threaten to leap off into tomes of their own. Elliot is a travel writer of the old school: untethered to an itinerary, eager to be led astray, and as ardent an observer of the experience of travelling as of his destination.
Copyright © 2006 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1st edition (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312427336
• ISBN-13: 978-0312427337
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #519,218 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good, not great, October 31, 2006

By	ash (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran (Hardcover)

I loved Jason Elliots first book about Afghanistan, and expected to be engaged with this one. For the most part, I was - the rich culture, history and art of Iran, as well as the local customs and modern problems were brought out by his anecdotes. And tho I struggled with some of his musings about Persian architecture, its a topic I have an interest in. However, his verboise descriptions of poetry and poets, and of name after name of historic references, lost me several times, and so I skimmed a bit. Still - he is a wonderful writer, and I'd read more by him. Just wish I had more background to understand some of his narrative.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outsider's deep exploration of Iran, October 28, 2006

By	Tenacious (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran (Hardcover)

Mirrors of the Unseen offers an informed Englishman's perspective of Iran, pictured in the passages of experience of the author's seemingly random travels over three years, augmented by larger readings of history -- tempered by an apparent knowledge of the importance of mysticism in the Iranian worldview. Most media reviews of the book have been highly laudatory. One by an Iranian of dubious extraction, Amir Taheri, indicated some vitriolic distaste for the book's origin and message, raising my interest further. The latter review dwelt mainly on the missed opportunities of Elliot's visits, which merely confirms Elliot's own view that the culture of Iran is immense when viewed historically, and could not possibly be adequately seen in three years. Likewise, a cursory reading of Elliot's book would inevitably miss many of its deeper points, as did Taheri's. Elliot makes every effort to emphasize the importance of historical art as the purveyor of messages sent over the course of thousands of years -- messages not out of date, but bearing lasting practical value. As such, his book has worth both as a tale of travel by a modern Westerner looking, full of humor and humility, to understand another country, and as an entryway for journeys into philosophy and the meaning of art and science taken at a higher level.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deeper Understanding of Iran, September 15, 2007

By	J Martin Jellinek (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran (Hardcover)

When I picked up Mirrors of the Unseen, I was very excited since I had so enjoyed Jason Elliot's An Unexpected Light. At first, I was disappointed. In An Unexpected Light, Elliot concentrates on the people he met and the social structures he encountered. This was essential for understanding Afghanistan. Mirrors of Light is Elliot's impression of Iran. He sees the key to understanding Iran in the history of its people, as shown through the people themselves, the geography, and the art and architecture. Each of these provides important keys to understanding the Iranian psyche. In Elliot's view, these are much more important than the current fundamentalist regime. Once I grasped this emphasis, the book was much more interesting as well as enlightening.

Elliot sees the ancient Persian history, dating back three millennia, as the key to modern Iran. The deep understanding of faith, the past glories of Persia, and the representations of these glories in art and architecture are all interrelated. In Elliot's view, the current hot button of fundamentalist faith has only minimal effect on the values and lives of average people, much as many Americans and v ery spiritual, faithful people even if they don't buy into the fundamentalism that is espoused by many in the government.

Unfortunately the fundamentalism on both sides of the American - Iranian divide is what is reported in the press. Elliot gives us a view of Iran that can hopefully lead to peace rather than war.

By the way, IMHO I highly recommend that you IGNORE Elliot's Caveat Lector on page 319 and continue reading. If you skip these pages, you may miss the key to the entire book.