A Mirror Garden: A Memoir

In this meandering memoir, an Iranian artist from a prominent family shares memories of her posh, wide-ranging life, from the early years under the Qajar shahs to post-revolutionary Iran. Born to a family of wealthy merchant politicians in 1924 in the thriving city of Qazvin, the author attended the first school for girls in her hometown. The family moved to Tehran in 1932 when her father was elected to parliament, and there she enjoyed a privileged life ushered in by the modernization regime of Reza Shah, before various foreign powers invaded the country during World War II. A gifted artist with family connections, she moved to New York to study at Parsons, and her exotic sense of color and design secured her work at Bonwit Teller, an exclusive New York City department store. An early marriage crumbled, but Shahroudy married a second time in 1957 into a high-ranking Iranian family, the Farmanfarmaians. She was then in a position to become an art connoisseur and collector, especially of Iranian folk art such as coffeehouse paintings and mirror mosaics. While her memoir lacks focus, she (along with Iranian-American writer Houshmand) nicely captures a bygone epoch in a very likable voice. (June)