Honeymoon in Purdah by Alison Wearing

Title: Honeymoon in Purdah

Author: Alison Wearing

First Published: 2000

No. of Pages: 319

Synopsis (from B&N): "In the tradition of Nothing to Declare, Honeymoon in Purdah is a book of sketches gathered over the course of one woman's journey in Iran. Through her, we meet the ordinary and extraordinary people of Iran -- men and women whose lives extend beyond Western news stories of of kidnappings, terrorism, and Islamic fundamentalism. Peppered with accounts of Iran's Islamic Revolution and political analyses of the country, Honeymoon in Purdah is a departure from our conventional perception of Iran. Alison Wearing give Iranians the chance to wander beyond headlines and stereotypes and in so doing, reveals the poetry of their lives."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: Do you ever read a book and find that you would have liked it if it weren't for just one thing? That's what I found here. The problem stems from the fact that the author engages in a deception that, for me at least, destroyed her credibility. And it's not the deception itself that did it, because I understand the reason and necessity for it. It's the fact that she maintains the deception to the reader until halfway through the book. (I'm torn on whether to tell you what the deception is or not. On the assumption that you hate spoilers as much as I do, I won't tell unless specifically asked.) As a reader, I felt betrayed and this colored my view of the entire book. I'll admit that this could be an overreaction on my part, but it's there nonetheless and resulted in my not liking this book nearly as much as I think I could have. The author's writing style is occasionally too overblown, like she's trying too hard to be poetic, but that is a minor portion of the book. Her descriptions of people she met could have been more developed, but again this was not a major problem. But the fact that she presents herself in one set of circumstances and then midway informs the reader that the circumstances are actually quite different only made me wonder what else she wasn't being upfront about.

Challenges: 999 ("Travel"); Summer Vacation Reading; Support Your Local Library