Book of the Month: Honeymoon in Tehran, by Azadeh Moaveni
We don't usually associate reporting on Iran with news of wedding receptions, C-sections, and baby names. That these subjects are thoroughly covered in Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran illuminates much of the charm—and the revelatory power—of Azadeh Moaveni's new book. In this follow-up to Lipstick Jihad, the Palo Alto-born Iranian-American journalist returns to Tehran to report on Iran's 2005 presidential election. While covering the apathy and alienation of much of the Iranian electorate and the related rise of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Moaveni unexpectedly falls in love with an Iranian man—and a succession of riches and complications ensues.
As a Farsi- and Arabic-speaking reporter with a decade of experience writing about the Middle East, Moaveni brings deep journalistic roots to her subject—and as the daughter of Iranian parents who emigrated to the United States in the late 1970s, deep personal roots as well. The resulting combination of empathy and expertise gives her a distinctive entry into and perspective on Iranian culture. Moving easily from upper-class soirees to working-class markets, political rallies to marriage preparation classes, Moaveni's descriptions and analyses of Iranian politics, religion, and society adeptly evoke the complexities and contradictions of life in Tehran.
As the book progresses, Iran's nuclear standoff with the United States heats up, and initial popular enchantment with Ahmadinejad sours as one after another campaign promise goes unfulfilled. At the same time, Moaveni's personal life enacts its own twists and turns: She settles in Tehran with her boyfriend, becomes pregnant, plans her wedding, and has a son, whom they start to raise among the daunting nuances of contemporary Iran. As the political and the personal rollercoaster along, these life-passages deepen the poignancy and power of Moaveni's account.
This humanity is the book's most winning quality. Refreshingly different from reports we usually read about Iran, Moaveni uses the intimate details of her own experience to illustrate the comforts and frustrations of everyday existence: On the one hand, she relishes how multiple generations and extensions of family are lovingly woven into the daily flow of life; on the other, she is distressed and intimidated by the fact that a woman can be stopped and arrested on a street for wearing a headscarf that is too bright. By the end of this generous and courageous book, Moaveni and her husband are forced to make some wrenching decisions about where their future lies.
