Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America

This is a wonderful book that made me laugh at loud at times. But it's also touching and inspirational. Dumas' narrative follows a colorful and likeable cast of characters, most notably her father Kazem: a hardworking engineer determined to live his own version of the American dream. Dumas' prose is clear, engaging, and quite witty. She writes with a contagious affection for her Iranian culture, the United States, and her family.

Although the book is often very humorous, Dumas also effectively covers some serious topics--the language barrier, religious controversy, female body image, the impact of the Iranian hostage crisis, etc. And along the way we get a spicy taste of Iranian culture and tradition. Overall, this is a superb addition to the canon of literature that explores the rich and complex topic of ethnicity in the U.S; it's a book well suited for college courses, reading groups, and individual pleasure reading. As a companion text, I strongly recommend "A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian Americans," edited by Persis M. Karim and Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami.


Humorous and Touching   June 25, 2003
bmj (San Francisco, CA United States)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful

The first thing you notice about Funny in Farsi is that it's impossible to put down. Dumas does an excellent job of weaving absolutely hilarious stories about her family (especially involving her dad, Kazem) with touching tales of family unity in difficult times. It's not just a typical fish out of water story about the struggle to assimilate into new surroundings, it involves much more than that. Funny in Farsi can engage you in side-splitting laughter and bring a touching tear to your eye all in the same chapter. It's an unbelievable book that leaves you wanting more when you reach the end much faster than you would have hoped. Buy this book, you'll love it.


to clarify some misunderstandings   April 5, 2005
Cheng-hao Weng (Anaheim, CA USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I understand the critiques and not-so-positive reviews that this book has received: mostly commenting on how it's just a bunch of stories put together, there's not really any "flow". Or it's just about superficial, daily, trivial issues. Nothing like a typical "memoir". I think they're all valid -- as long as these people are willing to admit their preconceived notions of what a "memoir" should be like. (that's why they're disappointed, right? and it's perfectly ok to be disappointed)

But, i strongly suggest finding out what the author's true intentions and goals are before criticizing the work. How? Ask her. (email, letters) Find a reliable source (such as an interview, etc).

The main point of the book is on our SHARED HUMANITY. The backdrop of much of her life (especially childhood) was the change from "oh you're from Iran? (and where the heck is the country?)" to "oh you're from Iran? (the country whose people are all evil and we hate you guys!)" She is trying to show a lighter picture of Iranians, Middle Easterners; that Iranians are people like us too! (seriously, do you think that all Iranians and Middle Easterns are serious and boring and American-haters? Is this the image that you get from the media?)

When you want to learn about a country or people, watching TV is one of the worst ways to learn it. Sure, it gives you a lot of facts, but the portrayal of people tends to focus simply on the negative side, or sometimes the idealistic/romanticized picture. (imagine, for a foreigner who has never been to the States who watches evening news every evening, don't you think s/he might come to the conclusion that the U.S. is a country full of robbers and theives and rapists and what you have nots? that's all it is on TV!!!) Now apply this logic to Irians, Middle Easterners, Muslims, and whoever. See if you can come up with any good things about them from the media or any good people. (in fact, the only "good" Middle Easterners portrayed on the media that I can think of on top of my head is Aladdin)

If you want to get to know a country or culture, befriend someone who is from there!

Firoozeh is trying to tell people that there is this other side of Iranians that most of us don't know. (if we're honest, most of us have the attitude of "i don't care! and i don't care that i don't care!") Iranians are just as human as we all are. Too often we're so quick to build walls, we don't even try to build any bridges. We are so quick to point out our differences, we don't even try to find our commonalities.

if you're looking for a short, light, funny book that will give you an idea of an Iranian family growing up in America, I recommend it! (i admit that's probably why I like the book!)

btw, 1) I've read the entire book. 2) I'm not an Iranian. In fact, I'm Chinese. 3)my comments about Firoozeh and her intentions and goals for the book -- i didn't make these up. I met Firoozeh today. She shared with us herself. :)

if you like it, share it with your friends!







Lives up to its name--laugh out loud funny!   July 16, 2003
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

A book with "funny" in its title already gives readers expectations of being funny--and rightly so, because it lives up to all of its expectations, and I laughed out loud at every page! It's Dumas' witty, clever play on words when she retells her tales of childhood mishaps that makes this book so endearing and easy to identify with. We've all tried to fit in somehow, somewhere and ended up doing exactly the opposite! Dumas manages to take these stories and tell them with such humor, that sad stories turn into absurd ones--providing lots of giggles and laughter on the way. But the book also has tremendous substance, as Dumas writes about her family with love--especially her father, who is the epitome of kindness, and the ultimate lessons she learns growing up in an Iranian family in California. Those lessons of generosity and humanity serve her well through life's ups and downs, and she is able to look back on even the toughest of circumstances with side-splitting humor. I highly recommend this book for anyone that has ever felt "displaced"--and that would be every one of us. Brilliant!


Real Americans   July 19, 2005
takingadayoff (Las Vegas, Nevada)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

Another reviewer referred to Funny in Farsi as "My Big, Fat Iranian Life" and that's not a bad analogy, although I enjoyed it more than My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

There are a lot of funny episodes in the book, as Dumas describes her family's adjustments from pre-Revolution Iran to Seventies California. Dumas was young enough when her family came to America that she grew up speaking and acting as American as the other kids in her suburban neighborhood. The adults in her family had more trouble adapting to the peculiarities of American life, but they jumped right in anyway. Her father aspired to be a game-show contestant, her mother wanted to get along without learning English, and her uncle expected to lose weight without exercising. Sounds pretty normal to me.

But it gets a bit serious, too, when they return to Iran at the wrong time. Dumas describes how they are caught up in events and how they manage to return to California. Dumas's story and her upbeat attitude make this an engaging memoir.