Azadeh Moaveni was born in the United States in 1976 to Iranian parents. As part of the Iranian diaspora community in Palo Alto, California, Moaveni experienced the pleasures and pains of being part of two cultures; however, she struggled with never quite feeling that she understood her family’s country of origin. In 1999, she moves to Iran to work as a journalist, and to discover her home.

Lipstick Jihad serves as both a personal story of Moaveni’s search for identity and an analysis of Iranian culture and politics at the dawn of the 21st century. Her experiences are at times disturbing, as you might expect, but they’re also sometimes surprisingly funny. Moaveni provides plenty of insights into Iranian politics and culture, which makes it timely reading right now.

This book is, of course, only one woman’s story, and so it’s not meant to be a comprehensive treatment of the situation in Iran. It is, however, a good, comprehensive look at one woman’s journey to discover her home and herself. I enjoyed it, and I learned a lot.

See my complete review at my blog. ( )

Moaveni is an intriguing author and I enjoyed her memoir, but I realize that her memoir is hardly representative to the experiences of Iranians as a whole. She only really represents the privileged class, which is usually a class that is often exempted from the rules of society and can get away with a lot more. If you're looking for fun read with a multi-cultural twist, give this a shot. ( )

A brilliant, insightful exploration of Iran's youth and the future of a precarious nation. An incredible read! ( )

I found this book interesting and enlightening. There are certainly some fascinating insights regarding the way an immigrant's ethnicity is celebrated (or not) based on their homeland's current "popularity" in the US. I also enjoyed reading about popular misconceptions held by non-Iranians about the culture and the contrasts between the pre and post-revolutionary lifestyles. I would have enjoyed reading more details about the author's personal interactions with the governing officials and clerics in Iran. Overall, a worthwhile read. ( )

I read Lipstick Jihad after reading her second memoir, Honeymoon in Tehran. While both books are a combination of chic lit and serious reporting on youth culture in Iran, I found Honeymoon in Tehran to be better at both. Her writing there is more mature, although she continues to focus almost exclusively on upper-class Tehrani. I would love to see her spend some time on the countryside and write about youth life there. I suspect even she would be surprised by what she found. ( )