Firoozeh Dumas
Författare till Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
Om författaren
Foto taget av: http://firoozehdumas.com/
Verk av Firoozeh Dumas
Associerade verk
Taggad
Allmänna fakta
- Födelsedag
- 1965
- Kön
- female
- Nationalitet
- USA (passport)
Iran (birth) - Land (för karta)
- USA
Iran - Födelseort
- Abadan, Iran
- Bostadsorter
- Abadan, Iran
Whittier, California, USA
Tehran, Iran
Newport Beach, California, USA
Ahvaz, Iran
Palo Alto, California, USA (visa alla 7)
Munich, Germany - Utbildning
- University of California, Berkeley
- Yrken
- writer
- Priser och utmärkelser
- Thurber Prize for American Humor Finalist
Medlemmar
Recensioner
Listor
Priser
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Associerade författare
Statistik
- Verk
- 4
- Även av
- 2
- Medlemmar
- 1,937
- Popularitet
- #13,295
- Betyg
- 3.7
- Recensioner
- 98
- ISBN
- 20
- Favoritmärkt
- 3
The predominant theme that runs throughout Dumas' stories, is the message for unity. That sounds general, but that's only because the author refers to it on the most general of levels. Behind almost all of the stories, one may find a message that speaks to the importance of family, of community, of ethnicity and country, but most of all, of the importance of togetherness on all levels of our lives, and beyond all restrictions or classifications.
Dumas' book is clearly centered around her culture as an Iranian. But she uses that to show us exactly why culture does not need to separate us. Her family, and its experiences, show us a side of immigrant families that most of us Americans never bother to look at, or as is often the case, never get a chance to look at, simply because our society never really provides he opportunity. This country has the nasty habit of suppressing the human side of people we don't like; or rather, there are some people who do not want to see the human side of those they do not know or understand, and therefore prevent the rest of us from creating understanding between ourselves and whoever this silenced group might be. It is an ugly habit, and one that is frequently pushed into our faces by Dumas' accounts.
But she is, importantly, never vengeful about it. She is at times, most justifiably, hurt by some of the cruelty she and her family encountered, especially when the Iranian Revolution turned them into "enemies" overnight. But she is never bitter or spiteful; this book is the farthest thing from a rant of self-martyrdom. Usually she is just sad about those who were shortsighted enough to be so cruel, and yet so uninformed. And even that is short-lived, for the majority of her storytelling is inspiringly optimistic about the nature of people and America.
I believe it is the purpose of her stories, to show us that it is entirely possible to live a unique life, and be different from the crowd, and be proud of what makes you different- be it race, or religion, or values, or even just looks- and still live in complete harmony with everyone else, and, indeed, realize that we are, at heart, not that different at all. Her story is one that teaches by example; and it shows the world that we do not have to discriminate against others, in order to define ourselves. If anything, accepting and keeping our differences can do nothing but make us stronger as a human race.
And, behind all that, this story shows us just what it means to truly value life, as it's given to us. Dumas, at the end of her book, remarks that it could be seen as unusual how, while most people write memoirs after a major accomplishment or event in their lives puts their name on the public radar, she wrote hers without any such event; her memoir centers, simply, on a fun, unique, and fulfilling- if unspectacular- life. And it's her point to prove to us that even the most unextraordinary existence, is something remarkable in itself. For as important as it is to dream big and live for our freedoms and blaze our own trails through the obstacles of an all-too-often limiting society... to forget that there is something inexplicably wonderful about a pure, simple, human life, is to disregard that most priceless gift of being able to live and love in this world; and if we're lucky, create our own story in one another's lives.… (mer)