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Khakpour delivers a unique and powerful first novel, with rolling storytelling cadences and a wry wit, that is at once a comedy and a tragedy, a family history and a modern coming-of-age story with a distinctly timeless resonance.
Review:
"'Khakpour builds her luminously intelligent debut around the travails of an Iranian-American family caught in the feverish and paranoid currents immediately after 9/11. Darius Adam and his wife, Laleh (who, much to Darius's disgust, Americanizes her name to Lala), flee revolutionary Iran for the alien territory of Southern California, settling in an apartment complex with the allegorically enticing name of Eden Gardens. Son Xerxes grows up with psychological 'dual citizenship': regular American outside of Eden Gardens, but the son of bitter Darius and clueless Lala inside. Xerxes finds true paradise in watching Barbara Eden, the star of I Dream of Jeannie. For the brilliantly rendered Lala, America is not so bad — it's a good place to ''lose your mind,' which is how Lala translates into English her forgetting her unhappy Tehran childhood. Against this background of a parody paradise, Khakpour plays out the events following 9/11, which will, grotesquely, unite the Adam family. By then Xerxes, 26, is an unemployed college grad in a New York airshaft-view apartment, as far from Eden Gardens as possible. Khakpour is an elegant writer, and she imparts a perfect sense of the ironies of being Persian in America, where the blurry collective image of the Middle East alternates between blonde genies in bottles and furrow-browed terrorists in cockpits. (Sept.)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"Dear Ms. Khakpour: I'm writing this review in the form of a letter to you because, in part, I've been reading your witty postings on the Internet, as well as a pre-review of this first novel that describes it as 'luminous.' I also have been very impressed with your blurb from the furiously talented Jonathan Ames, who describes this work as 'hypnotic, kaleidoscopic, gorgeous, and... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) mad.' I know Mr. Ames is chary with his praise, so I suspect I'm going to be in the minority when I say I had trouble with this novel, had actual trouble reading it, and I thought it best to address you directly. 'Sons and Other Flammable Objects' is a novel of immigration, as well as a study of the ancient conflict between fathers and sons. (This part is for the benefit of our mutual readers.) It recalls the escape of an Iranian family during the revolution and their difficult journey to the United States. The U.S. immigration people, as so often happens, muddle the family's surname so that it ends up spelled 'Adam,' although variant pronunciations make it 'Odd-damn,' or 'Aaa-dumb.' The mother in the family is Lahleh, but when they end up in Pasadena, in an apartment complex ironically called Eden Gardens, she changes her name to Lala, which refers either to a cheery tune or to L.A., pronounced twice, because Lala is happy in L.A., when she isn't refereeing the constant fights between her husband, Darius, and her son, Xerxes. 'How heavy can a carry-on be again?' and the answer, 'Heavier than you think,' is an exchange fraught with meaning that passes between father and son, and marks their (perhaps permanent) estrangement. They're talking about luggage, supposedly, but really about ... history. The original Darius was a heroic Persian king, and his son Xerxes, 'while interesting, ruined everything.' This raises a question: In that case, why name your son after him? But in this novel, symbolism always trumps character. I had trouble with that. Father and son detest each other. But Xerxes' parents are made to seem detestable from the start: 'During their courtship nothing meant more to (Darius) than their mutual misanthropy. ... He would point out that she had the typical bumpy too-big Persian nose. ... He would point out that his bony furry back repulsed her. He warned her after proposing that he could see already that their marriage would be plagued with misery. ... They married.' This slant on things is a function of generation, I think. Until we reach the age of maybe 35, we're ashamed of our parents on principle: How could people so ultra-awful have given birth to sensitive us? Later in the novel, Xerxes finds a girlfriend, Suzanne, whose parents uncomplainingly support her in an East Village apartment. She can barely sit in a room with them without having dry heaves; they literally make her sick. Later, her mother talks like a badly calibrated robot: 'Well, I'll tell you what, missy ... ' So all four parents sound and act like cartoons. Again, when we're in our teens and 20s, we all feel that to some degree, but shouldn't a serious novelist be able to endow her characters with some actual human dimensions? I had trouble with that. The main plot thrust here is that Xerxes has been utterly traumatized in his childhood by his awful dad. It is true that when Darius was a kid in Tehran, he and some other little boys tortured birds, coating them with kerosene and watching them fly away, aflame. (The adult Darius is fool enough to tell his son about this.) But later in life he attempts to atone for these deeds by 'belling' the cats in their Pasadena apartment, in a quixotic attempt to save the lives of other birds. It's also true that Darius once beats his son for accidentally breaking a family picture of a Disneyland excursion. And — at least once — he has raised his hand to his wife. (But later on, when Xerxes slaps the face of his girlfriend, Suzanne, that's just seen as a symptom of a tortured soul, so, what's the standard here?) It's also true that Darius once hauled the family out to an Iranian protest where a zealot set himself on fire, but how was that specifically the fault of Darius? And what little boy hasn't tortured a small animal if he could get his hands on it? And why is Darius' use of physical violence ghastly and Xerxes' endearing? I tried to get it, but I couldn't. Two other things, and I'm pretty sure they'll be good enough reason for you to wave this review around to your friends as proof positive that your novel is as pearls before swine: How could anyone be so pedestrian as to question how often you use the word 'snapped' instead of 'said?' I didn't start counting until after Page 246, when I just couldn't take it anymore, but 17 times that verb pops up — remember that's after Page 246 — and three times on one page. It's not just Darius; they all snap like turtles, seemingly incapable of a pleasant sentence. Finally, there's the matter of passports (not to mention visas). A trip to Iran is in the offing. But Darius hasn't left America in more than 20 years; his son has never left the country. And yet there they are, post-9/11, up in the air in transatlantic planes that they've taken virtually on the spur of the moment. Where did they get their passports? Where was your editor? (I thought about calling the Iranian consulate to find out their policy about issuing visas to citizens who fled during the revolution, now that the 'war on terrorism' is going on, but then I thought, it isn't my job. It was your job.) There were so many things you could have done here — take a look at old-world male rage, or what makes Xerxes' girlfriend respond to his slap with a series of loving, servile Post-its. Or, most of all, explain why Xerxes gets to hate his father so much for so little reason and still remain sympathetic, at least in the eyes of the author. But you didn't. Ms. Khakpour, I could be wrong about this. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. Maybe your novel really is 'hypnotic' and so on. But I'm sorry. I don't think I'm wrong. I think I'm right." Reviewed by Carolyn See, who can may be reached at www.carolynsee.com, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
(hide most of this review)
Synopsis:
A wry and haunting first novel from a fresh Iranian-American writer, Sons and Other Flammable Objects is a sweeping, lyrical tale of suffering, redemption, and the role of memory and inheritance in making peace with our worlds. Growing up, Xerxes Adam is painfully aware that he is different—with an understanding of his Iranian heritage that vacillates from typical teenage embarrassment to something so tragic it can barely be spoken. His father, Darius, dwells obsessively on his sense of exile, and fantasizes about a nonexistent daughter he can relate to better than his living son; Xerxess mother changes her name and tries to make friends; but neither of them offers their son anything he can actually use to make sense of the terrifying, violent last moments in a homeland he barely remembers. As he grows into manhood and moves to New York, his major goal in life is to completely separate from his parents, but when he meets a beautiful half-Iranian girl on the roof of his building after New Yorks own terrifying and violent catastrophe strikes, it seems Iran will not let Xerxes go.
Olivia, January 14, 2009 (view all comments by Olivia)
As a Middle Eastern-American/New Yorker, I felt a connection to Porochista Khakpour that led to my picking up a copy of Sons...Flammable Objects. Her New York Diet interview with Grub Street mentioned her flair for juxtaposing the fantastic with the mundane (Fruity Pebbles and Pringles set against the backdrop of September 11th and inter-generational inter-cultural reckonings). Unfortunately, it fell too flat too soon for me. I know I'm in the minority here, but so are the Iranian-American family at the center of this novel. Regardless, I look forward to seeing Khakpour develop and mature as a writer, in her second or third novel she may make me quake in my boots.
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jeriking, July 29, 2007 (view all comments by jeriking)
This book is a modern classic---incredible father and son story set against September 11 2001 backdrop. Iranians are explored in a way I haven't seen. They are right to compare her to Zadie Smith. She has the wit and expertise of Smith, but often a poignancy much deeper and more resonant. This book kills in a way I haven't read in a while.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (6 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Product details
416 pages
Grove Press -
English9780802118530
Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"'Khakpour builds her luminously intelligent debut around the travails of an Iranian-American family caught in the feverish and paranoid currents immediately after 9/11. Darius Adam and his wife, Laleh (who, much to Darius's disgust, Americanizes her name to Lala), flee revolutionary Iran for the alien territory of Southern California, settling in an apartment complex with the allegorically enticing name of Eden Gardens. Son Xerxes grows up with psychological 'dual citizenship': regular American outside of Eden Gardens, but the son of bitter Darius and clueless Lala inside. Xerxes finds true paradise in watching Barbara Eden, the star of I Dream of Jeannie. For the brilliantly rendered Lala, America is not so bad — it's a good place to ''lose your mind,' which is how Lala translates into English her forgetting her unhappy Tehran childhood. Against this background of a parody paradise, Khakpour plays out the events following 9/11, which will, grotesquely, unite the Adam family. By then Xerxes, 26, is an unemployed college grad in a New York airshaft-view apartment, as far from Eden Gardens as possible. Khakpour is an elegant writer, and she imparts a perfect sense of the ironies of being Persian in America, where the blurry collective image of the Middle East alternates between blonde genies in bottles and furrow-browed terrorists in cockpits. (Sept.)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis"
by Hold All,
A wry and haunting first novel from a fresh Iranian-American writer, Sons and Other Flammable Objects is a sweeping, lyrical tale of suffering, redemption, and the role of memory and inheritance in making peace with our worlds. Growing up, Xerxes Adam is painfully aware that he is different—with an understanding of his Iranian heritage that vacillates from typical teenage embarrassment to something so tragic it can barely be spoken. His father, Darius, dwells obsessively on his sense of exile, and fantasizes about a nonexistent daughter he can relate to better than his living son; Xerxess mother changes her name and tries to make friends; but neither of them offers their son anything he can actually use to make sense of the terrifying, violent last moments in a homeland he barely remembers. As he grows into manhood and moves to New York, his major goal in life is to completely separate from his parents, but when he meets a beautiful half-Iranian girl on the roof of his building after New Yorks own terrifying and violent catastrophe strikes, it seems Iran will not let Xerxes go.
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