Review: "This Country" by Navied Mahdavian

This Country by Navied Mahdavian
Published September 2023 via Princeton Architectural Press
★★★★

In 2016, Mahdavian and his wife moved from a liberal city to the deep, deep sticks: rural Idaho. They had a small house trucked in, they planted gardens in raised bed after raised bed, and they slowly got to know their neighbors—and to understand just how far from home they were. They could live here, and happily...but for how long?

Mahdavian is a cartoonist, and for all that the illustrations here are simple, there's a wonderful level of whimsy to them as well. In This Country, Mahdavian's wife often plays the grounding force to his more playful flights of fancy, and my overwhelming impression is that I would like to be their neighbor, in city or in country. (Although, in country, I can imagine also wanting a crusty old oldtimer around, one who actually knew what was what, because goodness knows I wouldn't.) Mahdavian is also even-handed about the locals, who are by and large welcoming of Mahdavian and his wife—but who are also openly racist and xenophobic, among other things. As the book progresses, the question becomes less Can we build a life here?, because it becomes clear that they can, and more Should we? Because whether or not they are asked to change to fit in, it's clear that the community will not be changing.

I daydream about moving to Idaho—or Montana, or Wyoming, or rural Saskatchewan—sometimes, but I also know that I am probably not made for those places. Reading about living there, for now or forever, is probably my next best thing.