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Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
Funny in Farsi
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Firoozeh gives an overview of the book:

Funny in Farsi is a series of 27 humorous vignettes chronicling my family's immigration to America from Abadan, Iran.  We came here in 1972 when there were few Iranians in the United States. The one time we ran into an Iranian was at the mall (of course!). The excitement, awe and relief was palpable, like two polar bears meeting in Hawaii. We immediately invited them over for dinner the following weekend. The book covers serious topics as well, like the difference in the way we were treated before and after the 1979 hostage situation. I learned then how quickly people jump on the hatred bandwagon.  Within a one week period, I went from being from this country where our carpets supposedly fly to being from a country where we all are terrorists. That experience eventually led to my becoming a writer and sharing my stories with others. It's all about shared humanity,...
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Funny in Farsi is a series of 27 humorous vignettes chronicling my family's immigration to America from Abadan, Iran.  We came here in 1972 when there were few Iranians in the United States. The one time we ran into an Iranian was at the mall (of course!). The excitement, awe and relief was palpable, like two polar bears meeting in Hawaii. We immediately invited them over for dinner the following weekend.

The book covers serious topics as well, like the difference in the way we were treated before and after the 1979 hostage situation. I learned then how quickly people jump on the hatred bandwagon.  Within a one week period, I went from being from this country where our carpets supposedly fly to being from a country where we all are terrorists. That experience eventually led to my becoming a writer and sharing my stories with others. It's all about shared humanity, with a few laughs along the way.

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Note from the author coming soon...

About Firoozeh

Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran and moved to Whittier, California at the age of seven. After a two-year stay, she and her family moved back to Iran and lived in Ahvaz and Tehran. Two years later, they moved back to Whittier, then to Newport Beach. Firoozeh then...

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Published Reviews

Dec.19.2007

"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."

Dec.19.2007

Today, as Middle Easterners in the United States are subject to racial profiling, stereotyping, and sometimes violence, this book provides a valuable glimpse into the immigrant experiences of one very...