Saved By Beauty: Adventures of an American Romantic in Iran

Synopsis
Sixtysomething author Roger Housden, searching for inspiration for his next book project/midlife crisis, lands on the idea of traveling to Iran. What emerges is a unique travelogue that explores Iran's richly poetic past, its repressive present, and its cautiously hopeful future.

My thoughts
I love armchair travel. One of my friends went to Iraq this year and another went to North Korea, and their experiences have prompted me to seek out travel stories that go beyond the usual buy-a-villa-and-discover-Europe route (although those are fun to read too). That's why this book caught my eye, and I was not disappointed. It never occurred to me to think of Iran as a tourist destination, but Housden's romps among the ruins of ancient cities made me hope for a detente between Iran and the West so that I can see it with my own eyes someday.

Housden met a wide array of people during his trip, and Saved By Beauty helped me understand the passionate, liberal-leaning populace that propelled the Green Movement after the 2009 election (Housden's visit took place shortly before this). I also appreciated Housden's perspective. He pointed out that even as Americans view Iran as an extremist bully with a religious agenda, many Iranians view the U.S. (particularly under the Bush administration) as an extremist bully with a religious agenda. Valuable reality check.

A large chunk of the book deals with the pride many Iranians feel for their Persian culture. This was enlightening for me because, being American, I'm wholly unfamiliar with both Persian culture and the concept of feeling an enduring spiritual connection to my country's culture. (Around the same time Housden was soaking up Persian culture, I was in Italy, where within the span of a couple hours I cheered on the Palio and then cringed my way through an episode of some godawful Tila Tequila reality show. I've never been so profoundly ashamed of America's cultural exports.)

Bottom line
I would have enjoyed the book much more if I'd had more (read: any) exposure to Persian poets. And my mind did start to wander whenever Housden started getting introspective. But Saved By Beauty  piqued my interest in Iran, and I'm curious to read more about its history and politics.


Fine Print
Saved By Beauty: Adventures of an American Romantic in Iran, by Roger Housden
Genre: Travel
Photo from Goodreads
I borrowed this book from the library.