Reviews

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi

izzy_reads7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It is hard to say if I had one favorite character in 'Disoriental'. I was engulfed by this family. The story is of Kimiâ Sadr looking back and telling the history of her family and 20th-century Iran. The family is the main character here, which, now that I'm sitting here thinking about it, is interesting because the main character talks about community being so important rather than the individual and their culture. The atmosphere while reading this book was completely amazing. It's like traveling to a different world. I have obviously never been to Iran. This book taught me the culture and history of Iran in the last century. At first, I thought the transitions from past to present were rather clunky. I think that is an issue with the translation. As the story went on, I found myself not really caring about its clunkiness. However, this is a very dense and slow read, but I think it's because I was learning so much and taking in so much information about Persian culture. This would be a great book to do the audiobook for while following along with the physical copy and annotating. That's something I have to keep in mind for when I reread it. The plot again, I love multigenerational family sagas, and you get that here. I loved learning about a place and culture that I wasn't really familiar with before or had preconceived notions of. We always hear stories about people going into exile from their homelands in the Middle East, and the story really showcased what that life is like, going from eastern culture to western culture and how difficult but freeing it can all be. I love this book, and I highly, highly recommend it.

taunusleserin's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Négar Djavadi beschreibt in ihrem autobiographischen Debütroman das Leben der Familie Sadr im Iran der 1970er Jahre, ihre Flucht 1981 nach der Revolution und ihr Ankommen und Leben im Paris der 1980er und 1990er Jahre. Dabei spannt sie den Bogen über drei Generationen der weitverzweigten Familie.

Während die Ich-Erzählerin Kimiâ (der jüngste Sadr-Spross) ihre Kindheit als behütet wahrnimmt, ziehen für die Eltern, die sich politisch engagieren, bereits die ersten Wolken am Horizont auf. Nach dem Sturz des Schahs 1979 und der Machtübernahme der Mullahs reist zunächst der Vater vor nach Paris. Als die Familie nachkommen will, bleibt ihr nur die beschwerliche Flucht mit Hilfe eines Schleusers, teilweise per Pferd, über die Berge. Angekommen in Paris sind die drei Schwestern überwiegend auf sich selbst gestellt. "Nachdem wir aus dem Paradies vertrieben wurden, sind wir uns ein Stück weit fremd geworden; wurden zu Wesen, die von anderen Kulturen geprägt wurden, von anderen Sprachen, die auf die Geleise eines Lebens gesetzt wurden, das nicht unseres hätte sein dürfen."

"Seit sechs Jahren bemühten wir uns tagtäglich, ansatzweise das normale Leben von Jugendlichen unseres Alters zu führen, aus Verlangen (Leïli [die älteste Schwester]), aus Bequemlichkeit (Mina [die mittlere Schwester]) oder aus Notwendigkeit (ich [Kimiâ]), während unsere Bemühungen unaufhörlich zunichte gemacht wurden. In unterschiedlichster Form - Kriegen, Familien, Depressionen, Briefen, Informationen und jetzt Mord - trat unvermeidlich irgendwann unsere dramatische Vergangenheit in Erscheinung. Wir waren wie diese klebrigen Gummimännchen, die man gegen eine Wand wirft und die sofort anfangen herunterzupurzeln. Unser Schicksal war die Tragödie des Absturzes."

Mir hat das Buch unglaublich gut gefallen. Es ist sehr authentisch geschrieben, man erfährt viel über das Leben im Iran vor der Revolution, hauptsächlich aus Sicht der kleinen Kimiâ, die eine gute Beobachterin ist und (sich selbst) die richtigen Fragen stellt (auch wenn sie auf viele Fragen keine Antwort erhält). Sympathisch fand ich auch die Wikipedia-Einschübe der Autorin, die mit einem bittersüßen Humor geschrieben sind. Große Leseempfehlung!

methanojen's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The best book I’ve read in years. I will never forget this family. I also learned so much about Iran’s history. 

alicebacklund's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

memphisholli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

sebbie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

meera01's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 I found this book to be beautifully written, but it didn't completely captivate me. The first half, which focused on the character's life in Iran, felt repetitive after having read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. However, the second half, which delved into the character's life in Europe after migration and more into part of Iranian culture I was unfamiliar with was when it truly captured my interest. When I read historical fiction set in places I have never been to, I like learning more about those places and cultures. It is not the author's fault that I was already somewhat knowledgeable about what the MC was talking about.

crafalsk264's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Oriental - of, relating to a characteristic of the Orient.

Dis - remix meaning apart, asunder, having a privatize, negative or reversing force.

The word used as the title for this novel is not listed in the dictionary so in order to give it a meaning, it needs to be linked to the with the prefix for reversing a condition. The coined word is oddly suitable to the story of an Iranian refugee who had lived in France since she was 10 years old. Born into an intellectual family who were opposed to the regimes of the Shah, then Khomeini. Her unique grasp switches back and forth between her own time in the early 2000s and those of a great grandmother who lived in a harem. The stories of her upbringing in a different Iran—one of education for women, books, foreign news and patriarchy—nourishing and enhancing the lives of the characters outside of its borders.

On the surface, this book is a novel. Autobiographical in nature, it is also a reflection on a life desired and hoped for. The author has used the format of a family saga to frame a very individual story. I personally found the flashback story of the parents and grandparents the most compelling and had much less investment in the narrative of the author’s refugee experience. The author’s background as a screen writer/director shows in the cinematic format of the narrative. I found my attention to the coming of age component waning. For me, the current time frame only served as a gateway to the story of the earlier family members. Perhaps this way the intent of the author, and if so, she succeeded. 

The novel was a bit of a mixture of styles with the main narrative in a first person voice. At times, it was tempting to read the novel as a memoir rather than a fictional creation. I don’t know how much was autobiographical vs invention, but suspect it was close. Overall the parts that were from the present were less compelling and the “Side A” narrative was richer and more substantial. The author’s use of her personal footnotes explains complex concepts was useful and entertaining. For instance, her entry on the vinyl records reads “Side B is the failed side, the weak side.” I congratulate the author on her self awareness in using the footnotes to her advantage. Overall, it was an interesting premise, well executed with elegant writing which told the story of a dedicated, loving family in untenable circumstances, which changed them all. This is a debut novel in 2016 but I expect there may be additional books by the author in the future . But finally I never connected with the main character and as she was the narrator for all the others, I couldn’t connect with them as I expected to and don’t anticipate reading additional work.  Recommend to readers of historical, literary, contemporary fiction, LGBT, queer, Iran, France and motherhood.

Quotations:

“Life is such that, even in the darkest depths of the drama, there is still a little room left the absurd.”

“To really integrate into a culture…you have to disintegrate first.”

“After so much time and distance, it’s not their world that flows in my veins anymore, or their languages or traditions or beliefs, or even their fears, but their stories.”

“But the truth of memory is strange, isn’t it? Our memories select, eliminate, exaggerate, minimize, glorify, denigrate. They create their own versions of events and serve up their own reality. Disparate, but cohesive. Imperfect yet sincere.”

zmj's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.25

fabia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad

5.0

Hands down the best book I've read this year so far.