I picked up this book purely by chance after coming across it on my goodreads feed. As a lover of fiction, history, and especially the contemporary history of a country that’s been frequenting the news, was way down on the list of things I wanted to read.

By Manucher Farmanfarmaian

What a grand name. There’s no logical reason why I decided to read this book besides the fact that the name of the author sounded too grand to ignore.

And what a fulfilling and worthwhile read it was.

The author was one of the princes of the Qajar dynasty. The book is his narrative of Iranian history.

“We speak and write of Iranians as “they,” as well as “us.” It is the curse of the emigrant.”

He’s a captivating narrator who’s able to create a cohesive story from disparate threads of activity that’s spread across space and time. Never before have I wished for a 1500 page book on history to not end and last longer.

“the grim days of December followed menacingly one after another, I too left to join my family for a skiing vacation in Italy”

He’s unabashedly himself. Every story is set against the backdrop of his rich network of powerful family and friends who either aid him directly or indirectly through their web of influence. Every problem introduces a new friend or a cousin far removed, who knows the right people, has the right equipment, or is the person to get things done.

Neither is he shy about describing the expensive hobbies he indulges in or the amount of assets he has amassed over the years.

This, for me, was a fascinating foray into Iranian aristocracy.

“Meanwhile Iran was increasingly suffering from a plague that was affecting almost every other developing country after the war: an influx of the rural poor into its cities. It was the beginning of a terrible urban problem.”

Naturally, this is not an unbiased view of Iranian history. But I’m all for the spicy, biased stories, with apparent human elements on display, which makes it a much more interesting read than just a dry tome of events across time.

“The banning of the chador was Reza Shah’s most revolutionary act.”

I had no idea about Iran or its rich history before I picked up this book. For a country that’s now portrayed as fundamentalist, it was surprising to read that Reza Shah had taken such bold steps in the 1930s, which the populace actually adhered to!

“Unlike the simple appeal of communism, which told the poor to kill the rich and take the land, democracy could never muster grassroots enthusiasm in places like Iran. In all my life I have yet to see a spontaneous popular demonstration for democracy. It’s too complicated a creed. It requires professional politicians and organized media.”

“Any injustice shared by all is justice.”

“The power of his personality obscured the fallacy of his objectives.”

“Constitutional monarchy doesn’t exist in the third world. He chose oppression for his own survival.”

His treatment of international diplomacy, especially around the relationship of Iran with Britain and US was presented almost like a soap - full of intrigue, deceit, and untold riches. Again, it is the narrative that keeps me captivated.

The other interesting aspect of the books is its detailing of how OPEC came into existence. In typical Manucher style, he goes into details of the backroom dealings and the corridor gossip that ultimately lead to the creation of this international cartel.

It is books like these that ignite in me an incessant need to gobble up more of history. If only, all history books were this entertaining.

5/5. Don’t be intimidated by the page count. They’ll fly by and you’ll wish for more.