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Update: I’ve a had a few months to sleep on this and I thought it’s more fair if I reduce my rating to 1 star.

I feel like a total asshole for giving this book a bad review. But let me explain.

I’m an Iranian and I deeply hate the Iranian government and how they treat people. They are unjust, brutal and terrifying at best and I would never ever ask someone to go and visit Iran while the current regime exists. I’ve left Iran 5 years ago and so far I’ve heard of many of my friends being imprisoned like Jason for things they have not done. I’m sorry that Jason went through that and I think I can understand the terror and anger he must have felt and still does to this day.

But I need to talk about Jason himself in this book because several things bothered me. I listened to the audiobook and he himself was the narrator. This was not a good idea because now I know that I haven’t imagined his “tone��.

His sexist and racist remakes, the constant profanity and smugness, being proud of weird “American�� things like McDonalds and private jets, the name dropping, making fun of people’s accents, attire and looks, thinking that he’s above everyone and everything because he’s an American citizen, “commanding�� his elderly mother constantly to “do more��, and many other small instances of his douchebaggery in this book really put me off.

The “ugly�� city that he saw from the plane when leaving Iran, was the same city that made him famous (before being imprisoned that is), the same city he was bragging about living in like a king in the beginning of the book.

I really wish that he had thought a bit more about the words he chose when writing this book. I mean I understand that he’s angry and he wants the world to know what he’s been through, but this is not the way.