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Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad
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| Part No: | 0345499565 |
| Manufacturer: | Villard |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
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In the bestselling memoir Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas recounted her adventures growing up Iranian American in Southern California. Now she again mines her rich Persian heritage in Laughing Without an Accent, sharing stories both tender and humorous on being a citizen of the world, on her well-meaning family, and on amusing cultural conundrums, all told with insights into the universality of the human condition. (Hint: It may have to do with brushing and flossing daily.)
With dry wit and a bold spirit, Dumas puts her own unique mark on the themes of family, community, and tradition. She braves the uncommon palate of her French-born husband and learns the nuances of having her book translated for Persian audiences (the censors edit out all references to ham). And along the way, she reconciles her beloved Iranian customs with her Western ideals.
Explaining crossover cultural food fare, Dumas says, “The weirdest American culinary marriage is yams with melted marshmallows. I don’t know who thought of this Thanksgiving tradition, but I’m guessing a hyperactive, toothless three-year-old.” On Iranian wedding anniversaries: “It just initially seemed odd to celebrate the day that ‘our families decided we should marry even though I had never met you, and frankly, it’s not working out so well.’” On trying to fit in with her American peers: “At the time, my father drove a Buick LeSabre, a fancy French word meaning ‘OPEC thanks you.’”
Dumas also documents her first year as a new mother, the familial chaos that ensues after she removes the television set from the house, the experience of taking fifty-one family members on a birthday cruise to Alaska, and a road trip to Iowa with an American once held hostage in Iran.
Droll, moving, and relevant, Laughing Without an Accent shows how our differences can unite us–and provides indelible proof that Firoozeh Dumas is a humorist of the highest order.
| Easy to read | 2010-02-05 | 4 / 5 |
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This book is easy to read and funny. You can go through it fairly fast even for someone like me who is not a reader. It's written in short stories and each story does not have anything to do with the stories before . It's a good choice for smal trips,waiting in Dr's office or even sleepless nights.
Enjoy. The book helps to picture the life of imigrants, what they went through, the changes they had made and changes they had brought with them into US from 70 till now. If you are looking for exciting stories, this is not a book for you other than that it's nice. |
| I laughed so hard! | 2009-12-28 | 5 / 5 |
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It is a really nice book and informative about the culture of certain part of Iran.
I bought it for my husband as a gift who is French to become familiar with some Iranian Culture. Afterall he is married to an Iranian:).
The first night that he started reading it, he was laughing so loud that I became very happy and pleased with my purchase. You should know that he is not very easy to laugh person, really serious most of the time.
So, I give the author 2 thumbs up! |
| This is a Keeper | 2009-11-30 | 5 / 5 |
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| I got this book from the library. The moment I finished it I found myself wishing I had bought it because I wanted to lend it to friends and then read it again. It was recommended to me by my 22 year old niece. As I started to read it, I thought it might be too lightweight, but this book is full of substance, delivered in a sweet, gentle, entertaining manner. I found myself wishing I could be friends with the author. In all my years of avid reading, this was a first. I highly recommend this book, both for its entertainment and substantive value. |
| Not like Firoozeh's first novel | 2009-10-27 | 3 / 5 |
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I read the first book by Firoozeh Dumas - Funny in Farsi - and fell in love. I must have read that book over 20 times, each time laughing out loud to myself. I absolutely love that book! Knowing Firoozeh's family also helped as I found little insights into the family and really saw what a warm and wonderful bond they all have. However, this review is not about Funny in Farsi, it's for Laughing Without An Accent. I enthusiastically got this book and started reading the minute it arrived. I couldn't wait to hear more about Firoozeh's family, her funny stories about her parents, and the humor of all that's happened in her life. I started reading and noticed right away that the book was different. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and kept reading but my disappointment grew.
Although this book has A FEW funny stories about her life and her parent's, this version seems to be all about Ms. Dumas's opinions on various subjects. I was so disappointed. Each chapter really is just about how she feels about certain aspects of life and American culture. I found it too opinionated and not at all about "Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad".
For instance, towards the end of the book there is an entire chapter about Ms. Dumas taking her daughter shopping at the mall but after the first two paragraphs in steers into her opinion on how teenagers dress and society forcing inappropriate clothing on teenagers. I felt cheated ... this is not what I signed up for.
Ms. Dumas, if you're reading this it's with deep regret that I give you only 3-Stars because I absolutely love your humor and your family. But perhaps that sort of commentary was best for a magazine article or an interview. However, the very few stories you shared with us in this book were still truly funny, enlightening, and warm. Please keep up the story telling... |
| Iranian author Firoozeh Dumas captures the spirit of her immigration experience moving from Iran to Southern California | 2009-10-05 | 5 / 5 |
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| In this charming and heartfelt memoir, Iranian (pronounced "E-ranian," as Dumas might point out) author Firoozeh Dumas captures the spirit of her immigration experience moving from Iran to Southern California. Laughing Without an Accent is filled with funny anecdotes, pop culture references and awkward "lost in translation" cultural exchanges, but don't let these light and playful vignettes fool you. Dumas effortlessly seams together threads from her youth--her desire for a pet monkey, overdosing on French Fries, and her discovery of the public library system, dating at college--with the common immigrant experience of what it's like to "float between worlds but never fully land." As Dumas recounts that "like many immigrants before us, we found not only what we wanted but a few things we didn't even know we were looking for: Girl Scouts, freedom of speech, affordable community colleges, guacamole, public libraries, clean bathrooms, the pursuit of happiness and Loehman's. Of course we also found things we didn't like: marshmallows, the Hilton sisters and all their friends, pants that ride too low..." Students are sure to resonate (Feel It!) with Dumas' common American experience through hopeful Iranian eyes. |
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