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bowheath12's review against another edition
5.0
This book was one I was not expecting to like let alone love (I’m not a fan of non fiction) but I fell in love with this families story and I kept reading and kept reading. I learnt so much about history of Iran and i adored this book!
whataboutzana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
akinnison's review against another edition
5.0
One of my absolute favorite recent reads. Incredibly beautiful and well written, tying together past and future generations. Courageously delves into the personal and the political.
itsbrittanybich's review against another edition
5.0
I went into this book with an open mind, no expectations, and I was on the edge of my seat. The suspense of knowing the "ending" going in and still having the stress of finding how they got there was wonderfully done.
As a child writing down their parents' experiences, Neda Toloui-Semnani captured the feelings of wanting that revolution and seeing it not turn how they expected.
Her writing style is lovely. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
As a child writing down their parents' experiences, Neda Toloui-Semnani captured the feelings of wanting that revolution and seeing it not turn how they expected.
Her writing style is lovely. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
nedasaid's review against another edition
5.0
Toloui-Semnani weaves together the personal and political in this tale that's both about history, political events, and revolution, and also of family and loss. Because of course, political events don't just happen and then the world moves on - some people's lives are changed forever because of them. Toloui-Semnani tells a harrowing tale of escape and mourning, and artfully makes sure the reader gets some historical context and analysis as well.
She is very much pulling together the pieces - of finding out what happened to her family, the things that are simply lost and impossible to know, and also making sense of herself and holding her grief in the process. The layers are several, but not impossible to follow.
The word 'diaspora' is convenient and also leaves out so much. This book is a helpful dose of the realities behind how one particular chunk of diaspora came to be, and relatable to anyone who has lost something - be it a piece of their culture, homeland, or a loved one. As she says, "I arranged and rearranged these fragments so that they could amount to something." Haven't so many of us had to do this very thing?
She is very much pulling together the pieces - of finding out what happened to her family, the things that are simply lost and impossible to know, and also making sense of herself and holding her grief in the process. The layers are several, but not impossible to follow.
The word 'diaspora' is convenient and also leaves out so much. This book is a helpful dose of the realities behind how one particular chunk of diaspora came to be, and relatable to anyone who has lost something - be it a piece of their culture, homeland, or a loved one. As she says, "I arranged and rearranged these fragments so that they could amount to something." Haven't so many of us had to do this very thing?
critter's review against another edition
4.0
This was a heart wrenching narrative about the author's parents. This book talks about history in Iran and in the U.S. The writer, Neda Toloui-Semnani, wrote this book while trying to understand what drove her parents to do what they did. I really enjoyed this personal perspective of events that took place and how the author was trying to understand her parents and try to move on from the grief that she felt.
I would like to thank Little A for providing me with an ARC.
I would like to thank Little A for providing me with an ARC.