Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Random House Trade Paperbacks (2004), Edition: 1, 240 pages
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Finalist for the PEN/USA Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the Audie Award in Biography/Memoir This Random House Reader's Circle edition includes a reading group guide and a conversation between Firoozeh Dumas and Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner! "Remarkable . . . told with wry humor shorn of sentimentality . . . In the end, what sticks with the reader is an exuberant immigrant embrace of America."--San Francisco Chronicle In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father's glowing memories of his graduate school years here. More family soon followed, and the clan has been here ever since. Funny in Farsi chronicles the American journey of Dumas's wonderfully engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot. In a series of deftly drawn scenes, we watch the family grapple with American English (hot dogs and hush puppies?--a complete mystery), American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey?--an even greater mystery, since it tastes like nothing), and American culture (Firoozeh's parents laugh uproariously at Bob Hope on television, although they don't get the jokes even when she translates them into Farsi). Above all, this is an unforgettable story of identity, discovery, and the power of family love. It is a book that will leave us all laughing--without an accent. Praise for Funny in Farsi "Heartfelt and hilarious--in any language."--Glamour "A joyful success."--Newsday "What's charming beyond the humor of this memoir is that it remains affectionate even in the weakest, most tenuous moments for the culture. It's the brilliance of true sophistication at work."--Los Angeles Times Book Review "Often hilarious, always interesting . . . Like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this book describes with humor the intersection and overlapping of two cultures."--The Providence Journal "A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love--of family, country, and heritage."--Jimmy Carter "Delightfully refreshing."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "[Funny in Farsi] brings us closer to discovering what it means to be an American."--San Jose Mercury News… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member OEBooks
This witty memoir is the perfect `pick me up' prescription. The writing is refreshing, clean, and interestingly upbeat. The humor above all of course, absolutely carries this memoir, so much so that I found the hurdling back and forth over events a smooth blend of perspectives.
From California
Beautiful, and delectably tasty.
From California
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1972, to E-ron (did I pronounce Iran right?), back to California 1972 and then California 1976, to the one day in college, then the time when Kazem first came to America, and then mention of Dumas's children and celebrating Christmas, and back to the wedding...man, Funny in Farsi must be read to experience Dumas's delicate blend of sarcasm and humor, and how she smoothly uses it to pull this nebulous mix together. Gourmet style I'll tell you... like the way her family prepared meals when they were in Iran. (On a side note: One of the biggest universal teases I know of in American culture and that's the teasing about one's name.) Beautiful, and delectably tasty.
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LibraryThing member ntimbang
i've read all the pages. The book is about a young girl moving to a new country. She as moved was she was 7 years old. It's also about the experiences she had. The main character is Firoozeh Dumas. She is a smart girl that knows both languages of english and farsi. she tells about her different
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experiences as a new citizen to the country. The only thing i relate to this book is that i got lost too at disneyland. i would recomend this book to people who like adventure. all people who like exciting stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member goldiebear
This book was cute. And that is about the accurate word for it. I didn't find it all that original. The stories were a bit short and didn't have a whole lot of substance to them. Granted, for Dumas her English wasn't her first language, so it's no surprise the prose is pretty simple. The stories
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were amusing and it kept me vaguely entertained. Show Less
LibraryThing member PeggysPage
Engaging memoir of a young girl growing up in Iran and America. From humorous anecdotes about language difficulties to the problems following 9/11, this book's light-hearted style will draw you in and show you a slice of a culture you may have missed.
LibraryThing member wirtley
Memoir, Writing is average. Stories are funny and interesting. Good story about immigrating to America from Iran and the difficulties which arose. Also, compared cultures between American and Iran. For example, Iran does not celebrate Christmas.
LibraryThing member tngolden
This book was a wonderful read! This amazing woman has a voice that is just hillarious! She could describe making a pasta salad and it would be a scream. Instead, what she chose to focus her wit on was her experience as an Iranian immigrant to the United States. In this little book she turned her
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gaze on her family and her childhood experience and it felt to me that I got to know all of her extended family and got to experience her life and to laugh with her as she grew up into a woman in a new world. Show Less
LibraryThing member kgudipati
I have read 198/198. "Funny in Farsi, A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian In American" is about an Iranian girl named Firoozeh and her challenges she experiences while growing up in California. She meets new people of different cultures but has not been getting along with them frequently. Although,
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Firoozeh made many mistakes and had numerous amounts of confusion, she eventually learned from her mistakes. In my opinion, Firoozeh and her father are the most important characters from the book. Firoozeh, being the main character of the story, has changed a lot throughout her early years in America and she still is, now, as an adult. When she came to America Firoozeh didn’t know much about America and only depended on her father, being educated in America, like the rest of the family. However she found out that most of what her father had said about America was incorrect so she changed a lot this way. The only thing I can relate to this book is about the family culture because it has very similar customs like mine. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that the author wrote down things that repeated the kind of alienation to her a lot. I would recommend this book to people who like to read about a different culture because that is what the whole story is about. Show Less
LibraryThing member jgonzales
Funny in Farsi is a wonderful book about a girl named Firoozeh. She has a hard life starting out at her new home in the U.S after living in Iran for most of her life. Life starts out hard for her because of her parents and her low knowledge of most things. But towards the end it starts to workout
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for her and it gets better and better. Show Less
LibraryThing member KateNichols
I liked most of the book, although I did not think it was "side-splitting funny." Although it was a quick read and gave some insight what it is like coming to America and trying to fit in, especially after 9/11.
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
It is a memoir of growing up Iranian in America. It starts at the beginning of the seventies, so before the big Iranian religious revolution- a generation before. It is very light and funny, but not engaging enough to be read at one sitting.
The book consists of short episodes from author’s life.
The book consists of short episodes from author’s life.
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The chapters are short anecdotes forming a loose chronological story. Most of them don’t take more than 5-7 minutes to read. I found them perfect for something short to read in solitude, and you can go through each episode at one sitting. Show Less
LibraryThing member dvalencia
I have read 240/240 pages in this book. This is a story about the author Firoozeh Dumas and how she lives her new life in America. Her family has moved down to Southern California from their old country of Iran. The main character is Firoozeh and she is a person who is scared at first but is then
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trying to overcome all the negative things she is trying to get by from. I can relate that having a new start is really scary but if you think more on the positive side of it then you will enjoy anything. I didn't really some of the corny humor in the book. I would recommend this to an 8th or 9th grader. I think Penolope Cruz should be the characte Show Less
LibraryThing member bexadler
In her memoir, Funny in Farsi, author Firoozeh Dumas uses humor and candor to introduce her family to readers and describe the language and cultural difficulties that come with moving to a new country. Originally from Iran, Dumas moved to the United States at age seven. It was 1972, a time before
Leaving politics out of her essays for the most part, Dumas is able to endear her family and her culture to readers. She also is able to help us see how the political climate in the Middle East has effected immigrants and American attitudes toward them.
Dumas also has a refreshing look at things I take for granted as both a Californian and an American. The essays from her younger years are filled with a child's sense of wonder and discovery, as well as mischievousness. For instance, when Dumas loses track of her family in Disneyland, she goes to the Lost and Found and waits for her parents to figure out that's where they should go to look for her. When they arrive she realizes her father will do just about anything for her because he's so glad to have not lost her forever, which she uses to her advantage to get all the goodies and balloons her penny-pinching father normally wouldn't allow.
I thought her descriptions of cultural differences were also very well done. At one point she describes her father's love of visiting Costco on "sample day" because of all of the free food he can get. Her father also insists on trying all of the latest boxed or frozen foods (despite the belly aches they get from it) because they are so different from what they would find in Iran.
Culture becomes a theme throughout the book as she grows older, spends time in France and eventually marries a Frenchman. As always, I loved reading about someone else's time in Paris. It always makes me feel better about my own experience because it confirms my belief that I'm not the only person ever to have a difficult time with Parisians.
All in all I really enjoyed this book. Dumas' writing style is fun and quick, and her descriptions of her family's quirks will take you back to your own teenage years.
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many Americans had ever heard of Iran, giving the author a much different experience in her first years in California than perhaps is felt by Middle Easterners immigrating to the United States today.Leaving politics out of her essays for the most part, Dumas is able to endear her family and her culture to readers. She also is able to help us see how the political climate in the Middle East has effected immigrants and American attitudes toward them.
Dumas also has a refreshing look at things I take for granted as both a Californian and an American. The essays from her younger years are filled with a child's sense of wonder and discovery, as well as mischievousness. For instance, when Dumas loses track of her family in Disneyland, she goes to the Lost and Found and waits for her parents to figure out that's where they should go to look for her. When they arrive she realizes her father will do just about anything for her because he's so glad to have not lost her forever, which she uses to her advantage to get all the goodies and balloons her penny-pinching father normally wouldn't allow.
I thought her descriptions of cultural differences were also very well done. At one point she describes her father's love of visiting Costco on "sample day" because of all of the free food he can get. Her father also insists on trying all of the latest boxed or frozen foods (despite the belly aches they get from it) because they are so different from what they would find in Iran.
Culture becomes a theme throughout the book as she grows older, spends time in France and eventually marries a Frenchman. As always, I loved reading about someone else's time in Paris. It always makes me feel better about my own experience because it confirms my belief that I'm not the only person ever to have a difficult time with Parisians.
All in all I really enjoyed this book. Dumas' writing style is fun and quick, and her descriptions of her family's quirks will take you back to your own teenage years.
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LibraryThing member PAUlibrary
This memoir chronicles the author's move from Iran to America in 1971 at age seven. Her descriptions of American culture and her experiences with school, TV, and language could be the observations of anyone new to this country, and her humor allows natives and non-natives alike to look at America
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with new insight. Show Less
LibraryThing member elsi
One of the best things I can say about this book is that it was much too short. It's another free book that I downloaded in PDF format, and after having success reading a PDF file on my Sony reader, I put this one on there as well. It's sad, but PDF files and electronic book readers are not a
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perfect combination, so there were some annoyances with the formatting, but those did not distract from my enjoyment of this book. I hear that Mrs. Dumas has another book out (or coming out soon) and I look forward to reading it. Show Less
LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
This short memoir isn't earth shattering, life changing, a book to be remembered and cherished forever, or any of the other hyperbole common on dust jackets. It is an entertaining, funny, sometimes insightful, and sometimes sad view of one Iranian living with her family in both American and Iran,
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pre- and post-9/11. It is a story of extended family who can be both loving and irritating. Dumas writes well and with humor. She writes about the ignorance of most Americans about Iran before 9/11, and the hatred of many Americans toward all Iranians after. She doesn't do it in a hateful way, just through the eyes of someone who has been viewed with stereotypes and misconceptions by people who don't know her. All in all, this book is a very good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member AuntKrissy
Book is available through download and is a Kindle book as well. Dumas has also written Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of a Global Citizen.
LibraryThing member ImBookingIt
Lighter than I expected, but still a fun read.
LibraryThing member kfrazer
It was better then I thought it was going to be. It is about Firoozeh's trip from Iran to America and her struggles here in America with herself, her family, her heritage, and people in America. I tells some stories about her childhood and the things that stood out to her the most. It also says a
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little bit about the things that still happen now that she is an adult with a family. Show Less
LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
With nonfiction like this, who needs fiction? Very funny, but a lot of insights into cross cultural issues.
LibraryThing member Sivani
A set of anecdotes focused largely (but not exclusively) on the cultural differences and amusing difficulties the author and her family faced in the US.
It is engaging, amusing if not wildly funny, with gentle little digs at her family (especially her father), filled with love.
The book reads a bit
It is enlightening on the topic of the immigrant experience in America - if not particularly profound - but never hectoring or accusing. An enjoyable little read
It is engaging, amusing if not wildly funny, with gentle little digs at her family (especially her father), filled with love.
The book reads a bit
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like those conversations after Sunday lunch before the plates are cleared away, where one after the other story is brought forth: "Remember the time when..."It is enlightening on the topic of the immigrant experience in America - if not particularly profound - but never hectoring or accusing. An enjoyable little read
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LibraryThing member pussreboots
Funny in Farsi is an enjoyable and quick read. Reading Firoozeh's experiences in the States before and after the revolution made for an interesting contrast to the story outlined in Persiopolis 1 & 2. Firoozeh's less politically active parents probably sheltered her from the worst of the events
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after the coup so her memoir is more focused on the cultural gaffs that everyone makes. My favorite chapter has to be the one with the beauty contest for Miss Bahamas and it made for a perfect segue from the last book I read, A Salty Piece of Land. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookReaderHere
I loved this book. It was very funny, but still revealing a lot about Iranians and their lifestyle. This family's commitment to other family members made me quite jealous, but it was still very refreshing to read about.
LibraryThing member purlewe
I really loved Funny in Farsi. In book club NO ONE liked the book but me it sounds like. One woman said it was b'c she was writing for a white audience. WHAT? I have met people who are funny in a self depracting way and they are FUNNY. They are not doing it for the audience they are doing it b'c
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that is what they know how to do best. Funny in Farsi was funny b'c she told stories that are real and frankly that is why they are humourous. I know folks who write like that and I laugh out loud every time. Show Less
LibraryThing member bolgai
When my book club voted for this book to be on our list for this year I was excited: it was definitely different from our usual fare and it was a promise of a peek into a new cultural experience, which is always something I'm interested in (since I myself am an immigrant other immigrant experiences
The book started out well enough and at first I could see myself finishing it, but then it took a turn for the worse. It is structured as a series of vignettes covering particular subjects such as doing touristy things in America, kindness of strangers, American food, camp experience, etc. They're not done in any kind of chronological order and one chapter can jump from childhood to adulthood in a paragraph or two. This made it difficult for me to enjoy the experience because I couldn't help but feel unfocused and scattered all over the author's life. The promised humor was there but it was mild and didn't make me chuckle even once.
I got through about a third of the book and realized that I was having an OK experience with it but I didn't really care one way or another what else the author was going to talk about. My main takeaway at that point was that she didn't particularly feel like she belonged in either her family because she grew up very Americanized nor in American society because of her name, appearance and heritage, but she was putting a brave face on it. I also think she possibly was hoping that this book would build a bridge of sorts between the cultures, show the Western world that Iranians are not all terrorists and the Persian world that all Americans don't hate them just because they're Muslim. The fact that this book was written and published after the 9/11 makes this idea plausible for me.
I really wanted to like this book but once I realized it didn't really work for me I set it aside. Life is too short for OK books, especially if they're not required reading (I'm looking at you, Manon Lescaut and Bartleby the Scrivener), even if intentionally or not they make "the other" seem not quite so alien.
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are something I'm curious about). Besides, the title has the word "Funny" in it, I expected humor and lots of it.The book started out well enough and at first I could see myself finishing it, but then it took a turn for the worse. It is structured as a series of vignettes covering particular subjects such as doing touristy things in America, kindness of strangers, American food, camp experience, etc. They're not done in any kind of chronological order and one chapter can jump from childhood to adulthood in a paragraph or two. This made it difficult for me to enjoy the experience because I couldn't help but feel unfocused and scattered all over the author's life. The promised humor was there but it was mild and didn't make me chuckle even once.
I got through about a third of the book and realized that I was having an OK experience with it but I didn't really care one way or another what else the author was going to talk about. My main takeaway at that point was that she didn't particularly feel like she belonged in either her family because she grew up very Americanized nor in American society because of her name, appearance and heritage, but she was putting a brave face on it. I also think she possibly was hoping that this book would build a bridge of sorts between the cultures, show the Western world that Iranians are not all terrorists and the Persian world that all Americans don't hate them just because they're Muslim. The fact that this book was written and published after the 9/11 makes this idea plausible for me.
I really wanted to like this book but once I realized it didn't really work for me I set it aside. Life is too short for OK books, especially if they're not required reading (I'm looking at you, Manon Lescaut and Bartleby the Scrivener), even if intentionally or not they make "the other" seem not quite so alien.
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LibraryThing member CassandraStrand
Funny in Farsi is also Funny in English, I laughed out loud several times (I don't usually do that when reading) and silently chuckled to myself at least once a page. This was a light and enjoyable read that I would recommend to everyone. It only took me two days of casual reading so it's well
I love the humorous approach she takes to her memoir. Many of the experiences remind me of my own similar experiences dealing with my immigrant husband and his family... her father funnily enough reminds me quite a bit of my own husband and several stories of her father could have been almost word for word describing experiences with my Egyptian husband 30-40 years later. In many ways I think much the experiences could have been had by any family who immigrates to the US... or maybe it's just any Middle Eastern family, I guess I don't really have too many personal examples to go on.
While I really enjoyed reading this book and found it quite humorous... it also made me sad. Not that the content was sad in itself but that certain aspects were saddening to me as an American Muslim parent. It just makes me feel sad for those who are Muslim but don't really take Islam seriously enough in their own lives. It's in no way meant as a comment to judge the author or her family as Muslims but rather a reminder to myself about raising my own children as good practicing Muslims.
My only complaint about the book is that it wasn't longer since I thought there were a lot of parts that could have been expanded but then it wouldn't have been as quick and light a read I suppose...
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within everyone's capability to get through. It offered some unique comparisons of life in pre-revolutionary Iran (in which author Firoozeh Dumas grew up) and the 70's-80's of America. I found it interesting to find how much of her post Iranian revolution American immigrant experience matched with the experiences post 9/11 being married to a Muslim immigrant and having converted to Islam. I wonder if Iranian immigrants who came around the same time feel as though they have had to live through such discrimination twice (although 9/11's impact has been much longer lasting).I love the humorous approach she takes to her memoir. Many of the experiences remind me of my own similar experiences dealing with my immigrant husband and his family... her father funnily enough reminds me quite a bit of my own husband and several stories of her father could have been almost word for word describing experiences with my Egyptian husband 30-40 years later. In many ways I think much the experiences could have been had by any family who immigrates to the US... or maybe it's just any Middle Eastern family, I guess I don't really have too many personal examples to go on.
While I really enjoyed reading this book and found it quite humorous... it also made me sad. Not that the content was sad in itself but that certain aspects were saddening to me as an American Muslim parent. It just makes me feel sad for those who are Muslim but don't really take Islam seriously enough in their own lives. It's in no way meant as a comment to judge the author or her family as Muslims but rather a reminder to myself about raising my own children as good practicing Muslims.
My only complaint about the book is that it wasn't longer since I thought there were a lot of parts that could have been expanded but then it wouldn't have been as quick and light a read I suppose...
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Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Biography/Memoir — 2005)
Thurber Prize for American Humor (Finalist — 2005)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003-06-17
Physical description
8 inches
ISBN
9780812968378
UPC
784497379350