Searching for Hassan
Yesterday I did something really awesome. I went to a reading by Terence Ward who read of his book Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of Iran.
From Publishers Weekly:
A U.S. State Department warning is usually enough to deter most Americans from traveling to countries in turmoil. But when the mission of the trip was to find a long-lost Iranian named Hassan, not even the inability to obtain visas in the U.S. could stop the Ward family. In 1998, Ward, his parents and three brothers returned to Iran to track down Hassan, a warm, thick-mustached chef and dispenser of folk wisdom who had looked after their family when they lived in Tehran during the 1960s. Ward skillfully draws readers into his family's state of heightened anticipation, especially since their only tip was the vaguely remembered name of Hassan's hometown. "Toodesht," Ward's mother remembered. "Well, just a minute.... Maybe it was... Tadoosht. Or... Qashtood." Aided by a 30-year-old photograph, the Wards traveled to Tudeshk and eventually found Hassan's mother-in-law, and later, Hassan's wife, Fatimeh, who is so taken aback that she dropped the receiver. Using the trip as his main narrative thread, Ward weaves Iranian history, culture, politics and religion in and around it. The writing stiffens and the pace slows only when Ward reaches back to describe his childhood in Tehran. Ultimately, Ward, a Colorado-based management consultant, succeeds in his loving portrait of a constantly changing, complex land.
I learned a lot. More than I expected. Well, actually I wasn't expecting anything because I didn't even know who was going to read of which book and in which language. So it was English and the Hassan book and Ward told stories, joked around a little (gosh, I nearly bursted out laughing the one time - would've been rather embarassing in a silent library), taught us about Persian culture and literature and religion and what not. And politics. I don't bother much with things like the Mideast conflict to be honest but man, this was interesting and made me use my brain. The whole reading was a mix of political discussion, a history and literature lesson, jokes and anecdotes, pondering silence and much .. feeling.
Remeber the photograph mentioned in the review above? It is real. Ward showed us.
I totally will read that book.
°°°°
In other news I'm rather screwed. Had not a single minute of watching-tv-time this week. Seriously - I haven't even watched the news or something. And the bad thing is: the weekend will just have more and more work and things to do in store for me. *sigh*
Anyways, I'm off to study now cos I'm writing a freaking biology paper tomorrow morning. SATURDAY morning. 8 AM. Eeeep.
Hope you'll have a joyful and relaxing weeked :)
From Publishers Weekly:
A U.S. State Department warning is usually enough to deter most Americans from traveling to countries in turmoil. But when the mission of the trip was to find a long-lost Iranian named Hassan, not even the inability to obtain visas in the U.S. could stop the Ward family. In 1998, Ward, his parents and three brothers returned to Iran to track down Hassan, a warm, thick-mustached chef and dispenser of folk wisdom who had looked after their family when they lived in Tehran during the 1960s. Ward skillfully draws readers into his family's state of heightened anticipation, especially since their only tip was the vaguely remembered name of Hassan's hometown. "Toodesht," Ward's mother remembered. "Well, just a minute.... Maybe it was... Tadoosht. Or... Qashtood." Aided by a 30-year-old photograph, the Wards traveled to Tudeshk and eventually found Hassan's mother-in-law, and later, Hassan's wife, Fatimeh, who is so taken aback that she dropped the receiver. Using the trip as his main narrative thread, Ward weaves Iranian history, culture, politics and religion in and around it. The writing stiffens and the pace slows only when Ward reaches back to describe his childhood in Tehran. Ultimately, Ward, a Colorado-based management consultant, succeeds in his loving portrait of a constantly changing, complex land.
I learned a lot. More than I expected. Well, actually I wasn't expecting anything because I didn't even know who was going to read of which book and in which language. So it was English and the Hassan book and Ward told stories, joked around a little (gosh, I nearly bursted out laughing the one time - would've been rather embarassing in a silent library), taught us about Persian culture and literature and religion and what not. And politics. I don't bother much with things like the Mideast conflict to be honest but man, this was interesting and made me use my brain. The whole reading was a mix of political discussion, a history and literature lesson, jokes and anecdotes, pondering silence and much .. feeling.
Remeber the photograph mentioned in the review above? It is real. Ward showed us.
I totally will read that book.
°°°°
In other news I'm rather screwed. Had not a single minute of watching-tv-time this week. Seriously - I haven't even watched the news or something. And the bad thing is: the weekend will just have more and more work and things to do in store for me. *sigh*
Anyways, I'm off to study now cos I'm writing a freaking biology paper tomorrow morning. SATURDAY morning. 8 AM. Eeeep.
Hope you'll have a joyful and relaxing weeked :)