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Interviews | January 24, 2012

Jill Owens: IMG Ben Marcus: The Powells.com Interview

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Ben MarcusBen Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of... Continue »
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    The Flame Alphabet

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8 Local Warehouse Literature- A to Z

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Sons and Other Flammable Objects

by Porochista Khakpour

Sons and Other Flammable Objects Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Synopsis:

Compared by Danzy Senna to "the young Philip Roth" for her "lashing, dark humor tinged with deep melancholy," Porochista Khakpour is one of her generation's most outrageously gifted new talents. Sons and Other Flammable Objectsis at once a comedy and a tragedy, a family history, and a modern coming-of-age story with a distinctly timeless resonance.

Growing up, Xerxes Adam is painfully aware that he is different¡ªwith an understanding of his Iranian heritage that vacillates from typical teenage embarrassment to something so tragic it can barely be spoken. His father, Darius, obsesses over his sense of exile, and fantasizes about a nonexistent daughter he can relate to better than his living son; Xerxes' mother changes her name and tries to make friends; but neither of them can help their son 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 York's own terrifying and violent catastrophe strikes, it seems Iran will not let Xerxes go.

Synopsis:

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.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780802143860
Author:
Khakpour, Porochista
Publisher:
Grove Press
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Iranians
Subject:
Iranians -- United States.
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
20080931
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Language:
English
Pages:
416
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.50 in 13.00 oz
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Related Aisles

Sons and Other Flammable Objects New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$14.00 In Stock
Product details 416 pages Grove Press - English 9780802143860 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by ,
Compared by Danzy Senna to "the young Philip Roth" for her "lashing, dark humor tinged with deep melancholy," Porochista Khakpour is one of her generation's most outrageously gifted new talents. Sons and Other Flammable Objectsis at once a comedy and a tragedy, a family history, and a modern coming-of-age story with a distinctly timeless resonance.

Growing up, Xerxes Adam is painfully aware that he is different¡ªwith an understanding of his Iranian heritage that vacillates from typical teenage embarrassment to something so tragic it can barely be spoken. His father, Darius, obsesses over his sense of exile, and fantasizes about a nonexistent daughter he can relate to better than his living son; Xerxes' mother changes her name and tries to make friends; but neither of them can help their son 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 York's own terrifying and violent catastrophe strikes, it seems Iran will not let Xerxes go.
"Synopsis" by , 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.
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