In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs is not an introductory book about modern Iran. Christopher de Bellaigue—British journalist, longtime resident of Tehran, husband to an Iranian woman—plunges into his narrative without much context or signposts. Although he focuses on interviews with veterans of the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war, sometimes he discusses traffic conditions, goings-on in politics, parts of novels, and his travels within Iran. Its organizing logic is non-linear, opaque, and sometimes seemingly non-existent. There are very few in-text references despite the 2-page bibliography. However, I found parts of this book enjoyable and shed more light on the mindset in Iran immediately post-Revolution and during the War when I was deeply concentrating on reading.

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