An Iranian journalist, Saleh, ends up at the front lines of the war in Iraq and Syria - repeatedly. Despite the fact that he is actually an art critic - in the craziness that was ISIS, such details did not matter much. In between his trips there, he deals with the backstabbing world of journalism (and censorship) in Tehran. The story weaves between the two - the peaceful Tehran and the martyrdom at the border cannot offer a bigger contrast on paper. Except that reality is a lot more complicated.

The novel is not the usual story of a reporter at war - these had been done. But then this war was not really like any other. Saleh chooses his own path more often than not and ends up part of a war that noone seems to believe in anymore. It is a cynical take on what was happening there but it also rings true.

I would have called the novel absurd but its sheer absurdity in places makes it sound real - from the old painter who wants to die and ends up in Samarra to the guy who goes to war with Proust in his backpack, from the state interrogator who starts quoting Proust to the marriage proposal that comes to late, from fighters citing Arabic poetry to a French man with a death wish - it all makes sense in a weird sort of way.

The style takes awhile to get used to - the prose switches between almost lyrical to almost crude and back and just like the style, the story itself jumps between times and people. The story is also full of Persian philosophy and regional history - and I suspect I missed some of it - the text assumes you already know it. That makes some part read dryer than they would read to someone who recognizes the references but they are as important as the war itself for what really is happening over there.

It wasn't always an easy novel to read but if you are in the mood for a war novel, give this one a try. ( )

An exciting war story that is also darkly comedic. It is about an Iranian journalist fighting an unidentified enemy in Syria and Iraq who struggles to make find his balance in an uncertain and dangerous world.

The short book is also a comic novel about Iranian life--the writer is Iranian and lives in both Iran and the U.S. where he teaches at NYU.

I felt at a disadvantage in not knowing more about Iranian life and culture. I had to accept the portrait of Iranian culture as presented by the author. I understood the book as showing the struggles of an intellectual in an anti-intellectual world. The protagonist is a dreamer (A struggle with which I can identify; although my society does not—yet—punish intellectuals, there is certainly an environment that is unsympathetic to what it considers, disparagingly, “elites”). I also found the shifting perspectives difficult to keep straight so I was frequently confused.

What I understood, I enjoyed. While brief, the book provides a great deal to think about. I enjoyed the intellectual content as well as the humor. However, I did find reading it such a challenge I almost gave up several times.

On the whole, I felt it was worth reading but I hope his next novel is both more accessible and gives greater context for those of us without extensive knowledge of Iran.

I received this book through Library.Thing. ( )

I received this as part of the Early Reviewers program. Not a bad read, definitely provided a different perspective. I found it to be well written and the story interesting. Something I may reread again later on. ( )

Not a bad read. It was good but not great. I wasn’t a fan of the main character. He seemed just as reckless as Proust and Abu Faranci were but yet felt the need to judge them. Especially since Saleh, the main character just like them on purpose goes to join the war even though he has no interest in actually fighting and his eyesight is terrible. I wanted to like him but I couldn’t. I found him to be immature, foolish and too indecisive about every aspect of his life. There was real potential for this book to go real deep when talking about war, love, fear and how foolish people are but it just fell short for me. Nonetheless it was a quick read and does shed some light on Iranian culture and certain beliefs Shias have. Not sure how realistic the depiction of war was but that was also interesting. I don’t regret my decision to read it and still find it worthwhile despite all of the cons I mentioned. ( )

Tehran Noir, edited by author Salar Abdoh, is one of the best short story collections I have read and my favorite of the Akashic Noir series. It is with that in mind that I opened his most recent book, Out of Mesopotamia.

In one life Saleh, the narrator, is an art critic and a writer of an extremely popular series on State TV. Here he must navigate the minefields set for him by his colleagues and his State Handler, H. He does so amidst feelings he has for his former lover, Atia, married to his boss on the literary magazine he writes for and a man for whom he has little respect.

In his other life, among real minefields, he ponders the lives of martyrs, ancient and recent, soon-to-be and want-to-be, spending his time among Iranians, Iraqi Arabs, and Afghans who fight an enemy, “…fellow believers who only went astray.” In his own words Saleh hates not being there, in the midst of things, more than he hates being there. He is a man torn.

A Catch-22 for modern times, Out of Mesopotamia offers a perspective on a war that at most times is difficult to grasp, particularly for Western readers whose need for this book on matters both educational and human is great. ( )