Last to Leave: A Memoir of Iran During the Revolution

by Barry Fitzpatrick

Mike and I make our way through the carpet section of the bazaar. In some places the buildings are three or four stories high and one or two levels below ground. All carpets. Gorgeous...any size and shape, silk, cotton, mixed...traditional, nomadic, contemporary designs. Custom made to order. Anything you want. I saw one of JFK for sale. Give them a photo and they will turn it into a carpet. Handmade. At age 29, Barry Fitzpatrick arrived in Tehran to teach English and coach sports in an international school. He instantly fell in love with the richness of the history and art, the kindness of the people, and the kabobs. Soon, however, ominous signs hung from buildings and black-clothed soldiers patroled the streets. Undetered, Fitzpatrick stayed for four years, married a Persian woman, had a daughter, and continued to absorb the culture until he was at last expelled from the country, two years after the Revolution. Barry Fitzpatrick, B.S., M. Ed., is a career educator with elementary, secondary and collegiate levels experience within both the public and private sectors. He has taught in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. "Fitz" is presently serving as an Education Consultant and resides in his home state of Maine.

170 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2014

Reviews

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was 2.5 stars for me. I'm doing some research and this book came to my intention as perfect to read about an American in Iran during the revolution and what it was like. He had some very interesting insights. I'm still amazed that he was even there after the Shah left and the new Iranian government took over. I was surprised he still traveled to bazaars and even to other places.

This book was very short and I feel that's what short changed it really. I felt like this was a blog post book, but it wasn't. Fitz just talked like he was reading his diary and / or thoughts. Sometimes, it was lighthearted and funny and sometimes, it was just meh. Because of the length of the book, I didn't get a sense of a theme for all of the chapters. I felt they were haphazardly chosen even though many of the chapters were great and I was there eating juje kabob or hiding as anti-American protests popped up. However, it was missing that connection piece. I didn't get that conclusion at the end to wrap the book up and why he chose these events. Some I get, but some I didn't. I just felt it needed a more cohesive theme, more details, and more editing.

Otherwise, I still feel like I'm glad I read it and did get a sense of what was going on during that time that I haven't gotten anywhere else just yet.

[Wilhelmina Hoftyzer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book would be a refreshing change from the travelogues that Kindle Unlimited appears to offer. Being tired of reading books about British ExPats moving to Ireland, Spain, Greece, France with their usual nasty, unbehaved dog(s) to which they all seem to have great affection, this book was very disappointing, not only written in an amateur and grammatically poor style, but the author did not even follow a "sequence" from year to year. In fact at one point he writes about his wife, to whom he annoyingly refers to as "my love" constantly, giving birth to their daughter, and by the next chapter he recounts the trip they took while she was "heavy with child". Basically this person goes to Iran as a teacher/coach, just prior to Iranian Revolution, stays there during the first part of Revolution, puts himself knowingly in harm's way, finds a wife, has a child, schools eventually are closed, and he drives his brother in law's car back to Switzerland with wife and child, and gold hidden in a dirty diaper. Thankfully the book is short, it has no depth, and the author seems not to grasp the severity of the Revolution. Don't read it....a great waste of time.

[Colette Mann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will be honest I read to about 3/4 of the way through and then couldn't take it anymore. I hate not finishing books, but this was painful. The whole chapters about his 'love', his 'beauty', his 'heart' were tedious to read. His writing style was that of a fifteen year old boy. Some hours of my life I will never get back.