Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59551 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 250 pages

Review
Elliot s first book illuminated Afghanistan and the Afghans, relatively unknown to us, before we heard about them on the news. In a series of off-the-beaten-track journeys in Iran, Elliot, a Farsi speaker, does the same for Iran... a welcome insight into the workings of a misunderstood nation. --Daily Mail

Sunday Times Culture
'Elliot provides a valuable insight into a country much
misunderstood in the West.'

THE Book Magazine
'A humbling introduction sketches out the infinite debt that we owe to Persian culture in every sphere of our lives…'

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Second Book
I'm sure I've expressed these views before, here on the blog, but it often seems to me that the nineties were not good years for the emergence of new travel writers. But, since the start of the decade there have been a number of fine new travel writers emerge, and a number of them have recently produced the all-important second book.

Perhaps, one of the most accomplished of these writers in Jason Elliot. His accunt of travels around Afghanistan, An Unexpected Light, was put together during the safer years after the Taliban had been driven out and before they started the current conflict; it was a wonderful book.

Mirrors of the Unseen is the account of a number of trips to Iran, indeed, Elliott covers much of the country, including some of the more isolated regions that are ignored by Tehran.

This is travel writing of the highest order. Elliot stays with ordinary families, meets many interesting new-friends on his travels on gives us a good account of contemporary life in Iran. There are the sophisticated, and educated, families in Terhan and the traditional farmers who's lives give a glimpse of ancient cultures and civilisations. There is a lot of history as befits a book about one of the great cultures of all time. I knew that Persian intellectuals - mathematicians and scientists - had given us many of the discoveries and inventions that we take for granted. But I hadn't quite realised just how many there were. No wonder modern day Iran is so frustrated with the clichés trotted out by George Bush and his acolytes.

For much of the journey Elliot is following in the footsteps of Robert Byron who travelled in Persia and Afghanistan during the early part of the twentieth century. Byron's classic, The Road to Oxonia is often described as the first modern travel book - and indeed it is a fine book (and well worth hunting down itself). It is fascinating following Elliot, following Byron, not least because Jason's experiences and observations bear out the skill and dedication of Byron's work.

Although Elliot followed Byron he is no `heir' to Byron's style. Someone like Bruce Chatwin was an `heir' to Byron, not least in the way that it is often argued that Chatwin's greatest creation was his own character. Elliot, is less colourful but not less fascinating. Elliot, seems to me to be, to Colin Thubron what Chatwin was to Byron - and that's praise indeed.

Mirrors of the Unseen is a wonderful book. I shan't tell you too much about it as I don't want to spoil the fun. It is wise, warm and keenly observed. But it is also ground-breaking as Elliot manages to decipher the mysteries of some important and ancient architecture, that had puzzled all kinds of experts for hundreds of years.

If you like your travel literature then you'll love this

The Other Side
I really enjoyed this book. It made me appreciate just how old the civilisation of Iran actually is, and made clear some of the differences between Iran and other Middle Eastern countries which are often lumped together. Elliot clearly knows and loves the country and its people and shows us how much more there is than the current superficial scare-mongering by politicians. What I found most heartening to read about was the humanity of the people Elliot met, their wish for peaceful co-existence with other people, and their rejection of the religious fundamentalists. They take the long view - the Shah came and went, and so will the current regime, while the Iranians and their history and culture will remain.

More than just a travel book
Being half Iranian and having travelled through most of Iran I bought this book to remind myself of the journeys I've taken but not really thinking that I would learn much. How wrong I was. I was left wishing that I had read this book years before and had taken it with me when I had been in Iran as his attention to detail and knowledge of Iranian history, and the influence it has had on so much of the world is vast.

It was more than just a travel book to me, there were real gems of revelation studded throughout the book and although some parts did feel a little long-winded, it was captivating until the end. It has inspired me to look in more depth at Iranian art history and left me hoping to return to Iran with renewned interest and a lot more knowledge and appreciation of the culture and history.