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peggah's review against another edition
4.0
The end of this book discussing people, terms and important dates in history are very important and useful.
Overall, I didn't care too much for the book, I don't care much for torture or prison or overbearing greedy politicians. However, it is an important read due to my ancestry and what my family in Iran is dealing with on a daily basis.
It makes me appreciate that while almost all politicians and governments are corrupt, my life is very blessed compared to those elsewhere in the world.
Overall, I didn't care too much for the book, I don't care much for torture or prison or overbearing greedy politicians. However, it is an important read due to my ancestry and what my family in Iran is dealing with on a daily basis.
It makes me appreciate that while almost all politicians and governments are corrupt, my life is very blessed compared to those elsewhere in the world.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
3.0
This is Bahari’s account of being imprisoned during the Green Revolution in Iran. While the book was not gripping, it was a rather interesting book. Bahari becomes the third member of his family to be imprisoned in Iran. There is a sense of distance in his narrative of the imprisonment, most likely for his sanity, but Bahari does seem to be frank. He doesn’t come across as holier than thou or anything. Just an everyman who found himself in a horrible situation.
Quite frankly, I think Bahari should write a biography about his mother because she sounds like an awesome woman, and I would love to know more about her.
Quite frankly, I think Bahari should write a biography about his mother because she sounds like an awesome woman, and I would love to know more about her.
juliabragg's review against another edition
3.0
It was everything you would expect of a book taking place in a prison in Iran.
chinesa72's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a wonderful, haunting tale of a tyrannical regime who will do all they can to keep their claustrophobic grip on their people. Maziar's bravery is truly amazing, and what he endured in these modern times should never have to be repeated by anyone in any country.
jennifer72's review against another edition
4.0
I am wavering between a 3 and a 4, but settled on 3.7 which rounds up to 4. The Shah of Iran was a tyrannical dictator and hopeful young people helped overthrow him only to usher in an even more tyrannical regime. Maziar Bahari does a great job describing the background history and his own memories of being imprisoned in 2009 because of his reporting on a rigged election and the protests that broke out afterwards. In 2020 our US government seems to be spiraling out of control and in California where I live it's very oppressive with restrictions in the time of COVID19. My personal opinion is that covid is being used as an excuse to usher in more controlling government world wide. I did gain some perspective and comfort listening to this book learning about how people live under tyrannical regimes. They keep on living their lives as full as they can and they do what they can to fight injustice. The book was repetitive at times, but I don't know if that could be avoided. Life in an Iranian prison is somewhat repetitive. The epilogue was one of my favorite parts of the book and the question remains how to bring about positive political changes. Maziar Bahari doesn't have all the answers, but he does have some cautionary tales to share and some hope as well.
jefrang's review
5.0
I had trouble getting into this but I read the final 2/3 or so all throughout today and when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about it. It's a truly engrossing memoir. Even though it wasn't at all what I was expecting, it surprised me with its hope. It's dark sometimes, but definitely a beautiful book. Check it out.
debz57a52's review
4.0
As an occasional Daily Show watcher, I've seen Bahari several times and knew about Jon Stewart's movie. Because of the subject matter, I wasn't sure I was going to read the book or watch the movie. I generally don't seek out these kinds of stories in dramatic format, although I don't mind reading articles - even feature articles - about them.
Going into the book, I knew Bahari had been accused of being a spy while he was in his native Iran, covering the democratic elections. I knew there was little doubt that the elections were rigged, that he had covered the demonstrations that resulted from the election results, and that he had been locked up for less than a year, partially due to a satirical interview he'd done with Jason Jones. Obviously, I knew he'd been released and survived, since there was his book about the experience. This was my background knowledge, but I suspected there would be all kinds of graphic details about torture, and I didn't know if I could handle it.
That being said, when my book club agreed to read it last month, I thought this was the kind of peer pressure I needed, and it would also afford me an opportunity to discuss the book with friends. I'm glad we read it.
I was in good hands. I never once read his accounts of his own interrogation sessions with Rosewater - or the news he collected about the others who were locked up before and with him - and felt that he was not going to make it. He goes into detail rarely, but makes colorful enough broad strokes that I could understand the weight of his message without needing to know the specific gory bits. Mostly, his narration was about the head games - both the ones Rosewater played with him and the ones he played to keep going each day - and I have no doubt that people have already made the comparison with Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and Rosewater.
The extra layer here, though, is that I don't know enough about the press's relationship to politics in the U.S. and the long history of Iranian rule to simply read his account and understand. This is where Bahari's masterful writing really comes out. Every time I read something I didn't understand because of a cultural difference, the next sentence was his explanation of it, oftentimes with the important context that helped me comprehend its importance in his story. (It was only at the end that I realized there were helpful extras, like a list of importance people, word/phrase translations, and a timeline.) I never once felt stupid that he had to explain it, either - the tone was so conversational and the syntax was so natural. Every time I thought, "Why doesn't he...?" he would explain why he didn't in the next sentence, as if he could see into my reader's brain.
I still don't know if I can watch the movie, but I am truly glad I read Rosewater.
Going into the book, I knew Bahari had been accused of being a spy while he was in his native Iran, covering the democratic elections. I knew there was little doubt that the elections were rigged, that he had covered the demonstrations that resulted from the election results, and that he had been locked up for less than a year, partially due to a satirical interview he'd done with Jason Jones. Obviously, I knew he'd been released and survived, since there was his book about the experience. This was my background knowledge, but I suspected there would be all kinds of graphic details about torture, and I didn't know if I could handle it.
That being said, when my book club agreed to read it last month, I thought this was the kind of peer pressure I needed, and it would also afford me an opportunity to discuss the book with friends. I'm glad we read it.
I was in good hands. I never once read his accounts of his own interrogation sessions with Rosewater - or the news he collected about the others who were locked up before and with him - and felt that he was not going to make it. He goes into detail rarely, but makes colorful enough broad strokes that I could understand the weight of his message without needing to know the specific gory bits. Mostly, his narration was about the head games - both the ones Rosewater played with him and the ones he played to keep going each day - and I have no doubt that people have already made the comparison with Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and Rosewater.
The extra layer here, though, is that I don't know enough about the press's relationship to politics in the U.S. and the long history of Iranian rule to simply read his account and understand. This is where Bahari's masterful writing really comes out. Every time I read something I didn't understand because of a cultural difference, the next sentence was his explanation of it, oftentimes with the important context that helped me comprehend its importance in his story. (It was only at the end that I realized there were helpful extras, like a list of importance people, word/phrase translations, and a timeline.) I never once felt stupid that he had to explain it, either - the tone was so conversational and the syntax was so natural. Every time I thought, "Why doesn't he...?" he would explain why he didn't in the next sentence, as if he could see into my reader's brain.
I still don't know if I can watch the movie, but I am truly glad I read Rosewater.
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