About book Then They Came For Me: A Family's Story Of Love, Captivity, And Survival (2011)
If you really want to celebrate Thanksgiving by being thankful for the society we live in as Americans, Rosewater is the book to do it with. The first part is an amazing account of Iran in the days leading up to the 2009 election, detailing the action on the streets, the feeling of the populace and a strong primer on Iranian politics. Bahari is a great writer here who puts you at the heart of the action and details the background in a clear and concise manner.The second part of the book (more than half) details his imprisonment under accusations of being a spy for the West (he's a reporter for Newsweek). He is tortured for months in an effort to get him to "name names" by a man known only as Rosewater, the scent by which Bahari identifies him. There is some physical torture, but most is psychological and it's fascinating to learn how the dance is done.The book is short and fast-moving, well worth the read for anyone, but particularly anyone who views the world in black and white. There are many subtle details in the very complicated Iranian society.Why only four stars? At some points it gets a little repetitive, and there is a bit of a feeling that the book is drawn out slightly. It still moves fast however.Full disclosure: I went to see Mr. Bahari with Jon Stewart at Times Talks, speaking about the movie adaptation. I bought my copy there and wished I had read it before the interview. Seeing him live might make me a little more sympathetic than a neutral observer, but my feeling is that anyone would be moved by his trials and the hope for Iranian society that are embedded within. After a prolonged break (due to being busy) I finally finished this wonderful book. There's so many different aspects I enjoyed about this book. I felt Mr. Bahari did a masterful job about making the book more about the struggles of the country itself than merely his time in incarceration. I believe he succeeded in giving the proper context and within that context allowed humanity to be shown on all sides. It really feels like a book that given his history that only he could of so beautifully written. The personal family history, the impact of the women in his life, his knowledge of the complexities of the regime, his struggles once in prison and finally the optimism of a better Iran that is as hopeful without being naive. This book does a wonderful job at placing itself as part of a continuum of the story of Iran rather than a simple story of monstrous brutality of prison and torture. I highly recommend this book and I guess now it safe for me to see the film.
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Excellent. Informative. Engaging. Heartbreaking. Inspiring. Hopeful. Will make a great movie.
—sbartley
pretty good non fictional story about a reporters captivity in Iran.
—shadowqueen
