By Firoozeh Dumas
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Finalist for the PEN/USA Award in inventive Nonfiction, the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the Audie Award in Biography/Memoir
This Random residence Reader’s Circle variation contains a interpreting workforce advisor and a talk among Firoozeh Dumas and Khaled Hosseini, writer of The Kite Runner!
“Remarkable . . . informed with wry humor shorn of sentimentality . . . in spite of everything, what sticks with the reader is an exuberant immigrant include of America.”—San Francisco Chronicle
In 1972, whilst she used to be seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her kin moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with out firsthand wisdom of this state past her father’s sparkling thoughts of his graduate institution years the following. extra family members quickly undefined, and the extended family has been right here ever when you consider that.
humorous in Farsi chronicles the yankee trip of Dumas’s splendidly enticing kinfolk: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later misplaced his activity throughout the Iranian revolution; her stylish mom, who by no means absolutely mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the consequences of yankee quickly nutrition with an military of excellent American weightloss devices; and Firoozeh herself, who as a woman replaced her identify to Julie, and who encountered a moment wave of tradition surprise whilst she met and married a Frenchman, turning into a part of a one-couple melting pot.
In a chain of deftly drawn scenes, we watch the kinfolk grapple with American English (hot canine and hush puppies?—a whole mystery), American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey?—an even higher secret, because it tastes like nothing), and American tradition (Firoozeh’s mom and dad chortle uproariously at Bob wish on tv, even though they don’t get the jokes even if she interprets them into Farsi).
specially, this can be an unforgettable tale of id, discovery, and the ability of kin love. it's a booklet that might go away us all laughing—without an accent.
Praise for Funny in Farsi
“Heartfelt and hilarious—in any language.”—Glamour
“A cheerful success.”—Newsday
“What’s captivating past the humor of this memoir is that it is still affectionate even within the weakest, such a lot tenuous moments for the tradition. It’s the brilliance of real sophistication at work.”—Los Angeles instances e-book Review
“Often hilarious, constantly fascinating . . . just like the motion picture My substantial fats Greek Wedding, this e-book describes with humor the intersection and overlapping of 2 cultures.”—The windfall Journal
“A funny and introspective chronicle of a lifestyles packed with love—of kinfolk, kingdom, and heritage.”—Jimmy Carter
“Delightfully refreshing.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“[Funny in Farsi] brings us towards gaining knowledge of what it ability to be an American.”—San Jose Mercury News
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Extra info for Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
He had met Linda, a blond nurse, whilst he used to be a scientific resident in the US. first and foremost, there has been a lot quandary approximately his selection. even supposing none people had ever met Linda, evidently she didn't know the way to make Persian foodstuff. What might develop into of my uncle Ali? may perhaps an Iranian guy live on existence with no basmati rice and lamb stew? not just did Linda turn into a wonderful Persian cook dinner, she additionally realized Italian cooking and have become the necessary hostess. She entire this whereas being hired full-time aiding Ali run his scientific perform. Now the kinfolk wonders what my uncle might have ever kept away from her. “He received lucky,” all of them agree. In getting ready for the aqd, we would have liked a sofreh, that's regularly a hand-sewn textile, approximately the dimensions of a queen-size bedspread, on which the relations arranges meals and gadgets, all of which carry detailed which means. on the head of the sofreh are the reflect and candleholders, symbolizing purity and love. Iranian households go those gadgets from iteration to iteration. My father, the hopeless romantic, offered theirs once they have been married. This was once almost immediately ahead of he made up our minds to promote my mother’s marriage ceremony band so that they may possibly remain on the Caspian Sea for an additional week. We ended up renting the sofreh, the reflect, and the candle-holders from an Iranian girl who does a brisk enterprise offering the gear for aqd ceremonies. for plenty of Iranians, relocating to the USA intended having to depart the massive reflect and candelabrum set again domestic. therefore, a different apartment company used to be born. The sofreh additionally holds an collection of sweets—sugar-coated almonds, baklava, almond cookies, and rice cookies. the entire goodies have been ready by means of Aunt Dordooneh, who's technically now not my aunt. She is my cousin Morteza’s wife’s aunt, yet she has baked her approach into everybody’s middle, together with my husband’s, who additionally calls her khaleh, “aunt. ” The week prior to my marriage ceremony, she confirmed up at our condominium each day and held marathon baking classes, filling our apartment with the aroma of rose water, butter, and roasted nuts. as well as the chocolates, there has been additionally a basket of almonds and walnuts, representing fertility, and a bowl of honey, for a candy lifestyles. A platter of feta cheese and herbs and flat bread represented happiness and prosperity. eventually, we had a small wood tree with carved radishes put on the end of every department, which didn’t symbolize whatever yet regarded adorable. The rite begun with François and me sitting dealing with the reflect with each person crowding round the sofreh attempting to get an exceptional view. Uncle Abdullah all started his speech in Persian, learn passages from the Koran in Arabic, then translated every thing into English. whereas he used to be doing his half, a number of aunts and feminine cousins held a small textile over our heads and rubbed sugar loaves jointly. this is often imagined to make sure the raining of happiness into the couple’s lifestyles. after we have been eventually requested no matter if we would have liked to marry one another, the groom is meant to respond to convinced straight away, however the bride is predicted to take her candy time and reason a little of last-minute anxiousness for the groom and his relations.