Die Abenteuer des Hadschi Baba aus Ispahan: Orientalischer Abenteuerroman

Having very recently returned from a three-week trip in Iran, I was impelled to read J. J. Morier's Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan in a Heritage Club edition that had sat, ignored, on my bookshelf for decades. Purportedly retold by the chaplain to the Swedish Embassy in Constantinople (Istanbul), this is a lively and comic first-person account by Hajji Baba, a barber's son who travels throughout Persia--and Turkey--during the early 19th century with references at one point to Napoleon. All the places Hajji Baba visits are real with references to still existing monuments such as the Royal Mosque in Imam Square, Esfahan. The fascinating social conventions and the tribal differences between the many peoples who still make up much of contemporary Iran, really haven't changed that much over the past 200 years. The characters Hajji Baba meets all have their own riveting inset stories. But Hajii Baba's accounts of his up-and-down fortunes are probably the best. His many, and always temporary, occupations include that of a dervish, a smoke seller, an executioner's assistant, a novice mullah, and a small-time merchant of tobacco pipes. He has two affairs of the heart, both ending in disaster. Throughout, his personal morality is at best flexible so he usually merits the downs, such as having his feet beaten to jelly, as well as the ups. The novel ends with the Shah appointing him as a deputy accompanying the vizier to England. At the end, Peregrine Persic, the fictional author, promised a second volume covering this subsequent part of Hajji Baba's life, but to my knowledge it was never published. This lively novel should be of major interest to anyone who has visited Iran where most of the frenetic animal traffic of camels, horses and mulesLonely Planet Iran (Country Guide) has been replaced with a terrifying mix of cars, trucks and motorcycles. For those who have not, Hajji Baba provides a great reason for such a trip.

Very entertaining book, though it took me some pages to get into the sonorous style of writing. Written in 1824, Morier, an Englishman who had spent much time in Persia (Iran), writes from the viewpoint, in 1st person narrative, of Hajji Baba, his life from the beginning til he is probably in his 30's somewhere. I wonder if present-day Iranis are anything like the Persians of only 200 years ago. Amazingly, Morier presents their life as basically unchanged from Biblical times. And Hajji is somewhat like the hero of "The Adventurer" and "The Wanderer" by Mika Waltari, prideful, boastful, with more than his share of vanity, and a whole lot to learn. I do know that poetry is still extremely important in the lives of Iranis, as it was then. I have managed to get ahold of the sequel "The Adventures of Hajji Baba in England", in which Morier pits English customs against those of Persia, poles apart. It is amusing, and I do not think unduely slanted towards the English at all. Just a clash of cultures, nobody right, nobody wrong.

I found this book to be an excellent read! It's got subtle humor, adventure, romance, rags-to-riches-to-rags-and-back-again...if Sinbad had a distant cousin on the wrong side of the tracks, it would be Hajji Baba of Ispahan. This book, according to the intro, has a SEQUEL which covers Hajji's trip to England, but I haven't seen sign of it anywhere. Do yourself a favour and read this book.

Hajji Baba may be the best book out of print. It's one of those unique, authentic, hilarious books like My Family and Other Animals.

An excellent long, slow read. If you want to have a good idea of how the Persian mind works this is a superb window into the basics of life and philosophy of these people. It is always a great idea to know more about other people. The informed "neighbor" is the safe one. Sincerely, Cynthia Tannehill Faulk, L.E.C.A Earl R. Hunt & Assoc.,Inc. {fax: (512)452-2822