Book:
The Persian (2025)
Author: David McCloskey
Summary (4*): The story of a Tehran-born, Swedish-raised Persian Jewish dentist, his recruitment to the Mossad, his Iran adventures, and his subsequent imprisonment. Pretty cool setup, although reading this while Iran and Israel are involved in a hot conflict changed how I interpreted it quite a bit. Really interesting up front, a bit slow in the middle, and a really interesting ending that I didn't see coming. Less a thriller than a character study of a guy that, from the outside, had a lot of thrilling events in his life.
Plot (3*): Kam, the main character, tells his story primarily through a crayon-written confession to an Iranian General after 3 years of torture and captivity, as a final act before, he presumes, he'll be killed. The story primarily centers on big events (a scientist's murder, a colonel's kidnapping and rendition to Israel) during Kam's time as a Mossad agent. Interesting subplot as well about the ongoing Iranian retaliation against the Israeli teams, and their families. Can drag a bit at times, but worth the perseverance.
Characters (4*): Kamran Esfahani, the dentist/spy, is really richly developed through his confession, and his conflicts and choices are a really good read. His Mossad handlers, co-spies, and the Iranian woman he falls in love with are all well done, but with less depth than the main character. Bonus for painting a picture of modern Iran and some Iranians with some nuance.
Re-readability (3*): Maybe. McCloskey's earlier novels are more re-readable to me (
Damascus Station is awesome), but this is a little less action-y and more introspective…will probably revisit in a couple of years.
Who It's For: Someone who enjoys Le Carre's more psychological novels (maybe like
The Constant Gardener), but applied to modern-day Iran.
