Honeymoon in Purdah

Allison Wearing stole my idea. Admittedly, she stole it about four years before I had it but that is neither here nor there. The bitch stole my idea.

Wearing's Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey is the tale of Allison and Ian's almost six month journey through Iran where they pose as man and wife. In reality Allison and Ian are just good friends and roommates, who both find men attractive. Being single and gay, respectively, neither would really be welcome as travelers in Iran. But by posing as a married couple they are more than welcome in Iran. The book details Allison's remembrances of her journey.

It's not an easy journey, especially for Allison. She has to wear a chador, which on it's best day is hot and annoying to wear. She struggles with her inherently Western outlook on life and how that colors her perceptions of Iran and Iranians. Things in Iran move much slower than a Westerner would be accustomed to. For example a twelve hour bus trip take two days.

The thing that I found most remarkable about the book are her constant tales of kindness. One of the things that struck me over and over while reading this book were how often Allison and Ian are forced to rely on the kindness of strangers. And more importantly, those strangers often provide for them in ways beyond their expectations. I thought a lot about how America must seem to travelers. Can you imagine the average American just inviting a stranger (who barely speaks their language) into their home for dinner and a place to sleep? I can't. And yet, this happens over and over again for Allison and Ian.

What disappointed me about this book is that Allison never really describes the places she visits. She spends so much time describing the people that the place in some ways seems lost in the shuffle.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the people of Iran. I think it's very hard for us to separate the people from the government. Americans, in general, aren't very good at that. And I think that this demarcation is very important in our current situation.


Books Read in 2007:

Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey ~ Allison Wearing
The Princess Academy ~ Shannon Hale
Avalon High ~ Meg Cabot
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ J.K. Rowling
A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ Khaled Hosseini
The Bermudez Triangle ~ Maureen Johnson
Fray ~ Joss Whedon
The Dragonriders of Pern ~ Anne McCaffery
Embroideries ~ Marjane Satrapi
13 Little Blue Envelopes ~ Maureen Johnson
The Cider House Rules ~ John Irving
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ J.K. Rowling
The Good Men: A Novel of Heresy ~ Charmaine Craig
An Abundance of Katherines ~ John Green
The Count of Monte Cristo ~ Alexandre Dumas
Looking For Alaska ~ John Green
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest ~ Stephen Ambrose
Drinking, Smoking, and Screwing: Great Writers on Good Times ~ edited by Sara Nikles
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood ~ Ann Brashares