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A review by scarletohhara
Revolutionary Ride: On the Road in Search of the Real Iran by Lois Pryce
4.0
This is a well written book, and the author's obvious joy at being on the road by herself on her powerful dirt bike which gives her autonomy over her movements in a country with terrains like Iran's , and her delight at discovering various layers of society that are otherwise common to an Asian country but take a deeper meaning in an isolated country like Iran (trust on neighbors, blatant sexism, mistrust of authorities, forced hijab for women) are visible through the writing.
For me, this book took an extra meaning because of the current anti-hijab protests related to Mahsi Amini's death. I've always been fascinated by Iran - partly because it was on the Silk Route which I hope to traverse someday and also partly because of the Persian influence in India that I've seen growing up and as an adult in Hyderabad. I've loved all the Persian references even in our everyday spoken language. And also because this is the one country that has been proven hard to get to. And from all the stories of Iran I've heard of friends say, I've been fascinated to visit the place.
I was also struck by the romanticism involved in how this book came about to be. I imagined myself to be that Habib who put that note on Pryce's motorbike, I'd have done that if I was stricken with grief on how my motherland was portrayed in western media. Coz a country is not its government, it is what the people make of it. And there cannot be just one story for a country.
That's why, it makes sense when Pryce says that there are two images of Iran in everyone's minds - one that of today's Iranian government and another of the kind, gentle, wise Iranian people with their vast influences on language, culture and architecture on various parts of the world.
Must read this boo for anyone interested in world affairs. This book fits into both social commentary and travel genres and helps spread awareness on countries like Iran, especially to beat the dangers of believing in single stories.
For me, this book took an extra meaning because of the current anti-hijab protests related to Mahsi Amini's death. I've always been fascinated by Iran - partly because it was on the Silk Route which I hope to traverse someday and also partly because of the Persian influence in India that I've seen growing up and as an adult in Hyderabad. I've loved all the Persian references even in our everyday spoken language. And also because this is the one country that has been proven hard to get to. And from all the stories of Iran I've heard of friends say, I've been fascinated to visit the place.
I was also struck by the romanticism involved in how this book came about to be. I imagined myself to be that Habib who put that note on Pryce's motorbike, I'd have done that if I was stricken with grief on how my motherland was portrayed in western media. Coz a country is not its government, it is what the people make of it. And there cannot be just one story for a country.
That's why, it makes sense when Pryce says that there are two images of Iran in everyone's minds - one that of today's Iranian government and another of the kind, gentle, wise Iranian people with their vast influences on language, culture and architecture on various parts of the world.
Must read this boo for anyone interested in world affairs. This book fits into both social commentary and travel genres and helps spread awareness on countries like Iran, especially to beat the dangers of believing in single stories.