Firoozeh Dumas

Funny in Farsi, A Memoir of Growing Up in Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas (pp 187). Julie, as young Firoozeh called herself for several years because no American could pronounce her name, has written about her mostly-American but heavily Iranian-influenced upbringing with a delightfully comedic touch. Her life after coming to America at age 9 covers a pre-Revolution childhood when virtually no one had heard of Iran, let alone could locate it on a map, to the immediate post-Shah years show more when she, her family, and everyone from Iran were pariahs in the U.S., to more recent times when Iranians have become one of the most affluent and educated groups of immigrants in America (and who started calling themselves Persians to blunt American discrimination). The author captures the stresses of living in America—especially from a young person’s vantage point—-knowing very little English, with a Mother who knew none, and a father who only spoke technical engineering. Her stories capture the absurdities of entry into and life in a different society, the mostly unintentional but sometimes intentional meanness of people because one is different, comical observations of her immediate and extended family, contrasts between small town Iranian and affluent (by comparison) American life, her marriage to a Frenchman (hence the Dumas in her name), and so much more. Firoozeh truly has a gift for seeing most every aspect of life through a comedic lens, and I only hope much of that occurred in-the-moment rather than just retrospectively, given all that she put up with. I can’t say my having travelled briefly through Iran in the mid-70s gave me any real insight into her stories, but the ever slight connection made me a bit more sympathetic to her absurdly fun and endearing observations about her life. show less

Delightful book about being a sixth grade Iranian immigrant during the Iran hostage crisis -- hard, yet hopeful, and full of funny moments. Particularly good at portraying what it's like to be the translator kid -- the bridge for your parents between the weird new culture and the old one. I like Cindy's voice, because she's fierce, in her own way, without being disrespectful. I also really like that it's based on some of the author's experiences. Well written, great read.

Zomord Yousefzadeh (who goes by Cindy, because, well, Zomorod, in America?) has moved to California from Iran in the late 1970s, and is struggling to make friends and belong in American schools and neighborhoods, but she loves America and American culture. At the same time, she loves her Iranian roots. She does make some friends (and some not so friendlies as well) but then the Iranian Revolution happens, along with the capture of the American hostages there, and it's on the news all the show more time. Anti-Iranian sentiments in the U.S. grow to fever pitch, her father loses his job, and the situation gets more and more dire.
Dumas does an amazing job of telling this semi-autobiographical tale, giving a realistic and factual portrayal of the times, the political turmoil, and the anti-Iranian attitudes and how this Iranian family is affected by it... but at the same time, there are heavy doses of humor, and typical middle-school fun/chaos/drama to keep the book from getting bogged down with heavy material.
Beautifully told, you can't help but love Cindy, and her friends Carolyn, Howie and Rachel. You'll love her father, and have a great deal of sympathy for her mother. A number of other characters make brief appearances, most of which are fun. A++ show less

It's the summer before sixth grade, and Zomorod Yousefzadeh's family is moving to Newport Beach, California. Zomorod decides that this is the perfect time to adopt a more American-sounding name, so she selects Cindy and sets off to brave the wilds of middle school. Little does she know that one of the defining events of her middle school years will be the revolution and hostage crisis in her family's home country, Iran.

I never would have guessed that I'd write the phrase, "a heartwarming show more middle-grade novel about the Iranian Hostage Crisis," but there you have it! This book is sweet and funny, and the characters are well-developed and true to life. The story is semi-autobiographical, and the author has clearly not forgotten how it feels to be a middle-schooler. Portions of the book did feel a bit didactic, but I feel that the author did a good job of incorporating a large amount of historical context, and it was necessary to the story, especially since these events are not likely to be familiar to much of the target audience. I know I learned a lot! Here's hoping this book finds the wide audience it so richly deserves. show less