Funny in Farsi

I laughed out loud way too many times at this book. The thing that attracted me the most about it was that it allowed a complex narrative to be brought forward on its pages.

The writer is not only able to bring truths to the page but also make it accessible, light, and humorous. I was enhanced by this book, and I keep recommending it to friends and family. 

If Durrell’s book made me feel like my family was not entirely abnormal, this one made me feel I was totally normal in my outsider-ness. Dumas recounts her experience growing up in California after moving from Iran as a young child. Reading it made me feel like I was reading about my slightly older, and definitely bolder counterpart. I wish I had the gumption she had when she was a young girl in the States. Where I spent my youth not wanting to take up space, she takes it up and does things her way. And I laughed. I laughed… show more.

I like to say that Dumas walked, so the rest of us Iranian authors could run. I’ll take that a step further. I don’t think we’d have Fresh Off the Boat without Funny in Farsi. Dumas’ memoir tells the story of her family immigrating from Iran to Whittier, CA in the early 1970s. She writes about her upbringing with plenty of affection and humor and dispels the stereotype of cold and rigid Iranian parents.