A review by misspalah
Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison--Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Eff by Jason Rezaian

challenging emotional tense slow-paced

2.0

 

They took me through a side door to a ceremonial entryway. Kazem, siamak, and a few others were there. I looked at all of them one last time. I stared at Kazem for a long time, until we both smiled. Then I did a crazy thing. I hugged him. Yes, it's even possible to develop an attachment to your tormentors, and no, asshole, that's not Stockholm syndrome. It's called being human. I felt the layers of anger and resentment fading just a little. As my ordeal took on a life of its own, born out of the narrative of convoluted half-truths and conjured fairy tales that became the story of my imprisonment, I had to remind myself so many times of a very important fact: no matter how much this whole thing was directed at me, it really wasn't personal. I knew that the door was closing on my ever physically being in Iran again. At least as long as these guys ran the place. My wife and I had conducted our lives professionally and socially in a way that was completely transparent. We thought that we could keep the door open. That we could come and go. I'd always wanted to show people that it was possible to live between these two countries. But it's not. 

- Prisoner : My 544 days in an Iranian Prison by Jason Rezaian 

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The book tells the story of Jason Rezaian’s imprisonment in Iran, which I hadn’t heard about because I wasn’t keeping up with world news at the time. His story is somewhat engaging and informative, and it’s clear the events were deeply traumatic for Rezaian. However, I found it hard to connect with him as a person. It’s tricky to review a book like this, especially because Rezaian often comes across as culturally insensitive, petty, and even racist. He also shows signs of misogyny and has a sarcastic and condescending tone. I think there’s some instance when he talked about his female lawyer’s moustache which is not relevant at all. Its hard to believe that this was a writing of a journalist for The Washington Post. I would have expected his writing to carry a professional tone, but it fell short. While the book wasn’t exceptional in terms of writing, it was still okay-ish and somewhat engaging, offering insight into a complex issue particularly in unlawful detention of foreign citizens specifically when it involved 2 countries that are trying to gain upper hand on each other. I sympathized with Rezaian and his family, but his storytelling didn’t fully draw me in or make me feel the emotional depth I expected. His bitterness toward Iran is understandable, but some of his comments felt elitist and overly critical, reflecting a sense of American superiority. While you can sympathize with the injustice he faced, it’s frustrating when his behaviour showed how he frequently mocks people’s accents, clothes, and looks, which gives the impression he feels superior. He kept on boasting about "American" things like McDonald’s, private jets, and citizenship. That being said, this book could have been much better with the help of a skilled editor (thats what I think). It’s written in the first person, but as the story goes on, the author’s personality becomes more and more unpleasant. For example, when he describes leaving Iran, he calls the city he sees "ugly," even though it’s the same place that made him famous and where he once enjoyed living like royalty. Some parts of the book are overly wordy, and I think it was marketed in the wrong way. I went into it expecting a focused account of his time in prison, but it turned out to be a full memoir. Rezaian explains his experience with the support of his family and friends. Even though he wasn’t physically tortured, his unjust 18-month imprisonment was still a form of suffering. It gives a detailed look at what it’s like to be a hostage, which is hard to imagine without reading something like this.  Overall, this memoir wasn’t for me—despite usually enjoying books in this genre. It’s a particularly slow read, the kind that makes you repeatedly think to yourself, When is this book going to end?