ABSTRACT
TEHRAN was stirred to its depths by the publication of the Romance of an Upstart—the most striking novel of the year. The author has set himself a tremendous task—the task of exposing imposture on the part of his countrymen. He is frank, outspoken, fearless, and his criticisms are merciless and devastating. With its outbursts of shattering vituperation, its inflammatory scorn, its boundless power and overflow of passionate speech, the book thrills you, grips you, enchants you, from cover to cover. As the most superficial reader can see, it is the product of our age of science, new knowledge, searching criticism, followed by multiplied doubts and shaken beliefs. The author is no respecter of persons. He freely uses the scalpel. His one object is the discovery of truth, unlovely though the truth may be; for truth, he says, is disdainful of false airs, complacent attitudes, submissive acquiescence. Truth, then, he proposes to exalt, to enthrone, to set up for unwavering worship and devotion. He sees around him the world wearing a mask, and this mask he snatches away and rends.
