Lost in America

 A book I liked this year--which seemed to fall under the radar--was Navied Mahdavian's "This Country."

Mahdavian has a funny, honest voice; he seems like a trustworthy narrator. In his twenties, he worked as a teacher in San Francisco, but he dreamed of drawing cartoons. You can't live in SF on a teacher's salary, anyway--so Mahdavian and his wife, a documentary filmmaker, moved to a plot of land in rural Idaho. I think Mahdavian understands a basic fact that remains mysterious to most of us: You get only one life. Now is the time to attempt a career in cartooning--and a move to No Man's Land.

Mahdavian uses a sharp metaphor: He recalls driving into a skid, and losing control, and the image of the rudderless ship recurs whenever Mahdavian finds himself in a bizarre conversation. A new friend remembers his grandfather, who shot and murdered a neighbor for failing to monitor his sheep. ("Everyone knew the truth, and no one spoke up.") And: Mahdavian thinks of his rudderless ship. 

Townsfolk praise the "moral clarity" of John Wayne films. ("If you're gonna hit the man, at least be kind enough to wait until he's your husband, when he can hit you back....") And: Mahdavian thinks of the rudderless ship.

I would have liked more "plot" in this memoir--but I enjoyed my time with Mahdavian. I'd read another book of his.