Searching for Hassan: An American Family's Journey Home to Iran

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In 1998 Terence Ward and his family set out on a long-awaited pilgrimage back home -- to the Islamic Republic of Iran, where they lived in the 1960s. Since the fall of the Shah, the country and their past had been effectively sealed off behind a veil of secrecy, and contact with one dear friend in particular, Hassan, had ceased. But memories of life in this enigmatic land -- of cherry orchards and Zoroastrian fire festivals, of the snow-capped Elburz Mountains and Hassan's magical fables -- inspired the Wards to return.

Searching for Hassan is the wondrous and touching story of the Wards' quixotic journey, ultimately rewarded by an emotional reunion with their lost friend. They travel into an unimaginably rich Persian past, to the very origins of civilization, and across the landscape of contemporary Iran, a surreal kaleidoscope of ancient traditions and Western pop culture. Ward creates a vivid portrait of Islam's unique imprint and explores the deep conflicts between Iran and its Arab neighbors, anticipating the new "Great Game" now being played out in central Asia.

Ward's keen knowledge of Iranian culture and history, infused with the urgency of his personal journey, reveals a country that is both wildly alien and inextricably linked to the American imagination.

FROM THE CRITICS

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. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

In 1998, Ward, his three grown brothers, and their parents traveled to Iran in a nostalgic quest to find a man named Hassan Ghasemi. In a highly readable narrative, Ward shares how they also wished to renew their contact with the country they had left when revolutionary confusion related to the fall of the Shah and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini struck in 1969. Ward's parents (employed by ARAMCO) and their sons had lived in Saudi Arabia and Iran for ten years. They had formed a close relationship with Hassan, described by Ward as "our housekeeper, our cook, and our young Persian father." The search was not easy. Hassan is a common name in Iran, and all they had to go on was an imperfectly remembered village name and an old picture. They finally found Hassan, his wife Fatimeh, and their extended family and delighted in a warm-hearted reunion. Ward, who wrote this book to give people a genuine view of the Middle East, interweaves his observations with a thorough sense of history and world politics. A clear love of Iran and its hospitable people, despite the country's ubiquitous "Death to America" mantra, shines through in Ward's writing, but the book lacks the incisiveness of two other traveler-in-Iran books this reviewer has reviewed for KLIATT. Library patrons interested in Iran today should have available Neither East Nor West: One Woman's Journey Through the Islamic Republic of Iran by Christiane Bird and Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey by Alison Wearing. KLIATT Codes: SA￯﾿ﾽRecommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2002, Random House, Anchor, 322p. illus. bibliog., Boardman

Library Journal

Ward was born in Colorado but spent his childhood in Iran, where his father was an economic adviser. When the Wards returned to the United States in 1969, they lost track of Hassan Ghasemi, a family friend who had played the role of "Persian father" to Ward and his brothers. The aftermath of the Iranian revolution hindered attempts to find Hassan, but after the lessening of international tensions in 1998, the Ward clan traveled back to Iran in search of Hassan and his family. In a powerful memoir that plumbs the depths of Iranian culture and tradition, Ward describes a memorable journey through a country few Americans know or understand. His Iran is the land of contrasts, where mystics double as city taxi drivers while nomadic tribesmen roam the desert highlands. Here the poetry of Hafez is as well known as the words of the Koran, Zoroastrian festivals are as common as Islamic holy days, and the glories of past Persia are forever linked with the country's future. Echoing the experience of the man whose background in cross-cultural communication has earned him consulting jobs with companies throughout the Middle East, this debut is remarkable for its vivid prose and depth of information. A valuable addition to any library. Mary V. Welk, Chicago Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-In a prologue set in Tehran in the 1960s, Ward relates how he and his brothers were initiated by the wise Hassan into the mysteries of the Zoroastrian fire festival. But these boys, who so wholeheartedly absorbed their mentor's teachings, were not Iranians but Americans. Returning to the United States, their parents lost touch with Hassan. Iran went through an Islamic revolution, a devastating war with Iraq, and finally another reform movement; the boys grew up and their parents grew older. Yet they never stopped missing Hassan and his family. In 1998, when Iran once more began to admit Westerners, the whole family-four grown men and their now-elderly parents-went back to search for their old friends. Miraculously they did find Hassan-but this is just one aspect of the story. Readers will feel a part of the family, learning how the strengths of each individual contributed to the success of the quest, and the journey is described to striking visual effect, conveying a passion for every experience. As the author reflects on the history, politics, and religion of the country, complex cultural issues become understandable in the light of real human lives. The spiritual lessons learned from Hassan, and new ones gained from new acquaintances, carry the Wards forward as they learn to "look beyond the predicament of politics" to find the "timeless, immutable soul of Iran." An illuminating and fascinating adventure.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews