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Powell's Staff: New Literature in Translation: December 2022 and January 2023 (0 comment)
It may be a new year, this may be a list of new books, but our love for literature in translation hasn’t changed at all, and we are so pleased to be enthusiastically recommending these recent releases. On this list, you’ll find a Spanish novel where controversy swirls around a Coca-Cola billboard...
Read More»
  • Kelsey Ford: From the Stacks: J. M. Ledgard's Submergence (0 comment)
  • Kelsey Ford: Five Book Friday: Year of the Rabbit (1 comment)

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Sons & Other Flammable Objects

by Porochista Khakpour
Sons & Other Flammable Objects

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ISBN13: 9780802118530
ISBN10: 0802118534
Condition: Standard
DustJacket: Standard

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Synopses & Reviews

Review

“Khakpour explores ethnicity, nationalism, and post-9/11 fear—well-worn themes that are far less compelling than the exuberant originality of her style. The characters burst from the page in fiery exchanges, while their chaotic inner lives are conveyed with witty precision . . . Khakpours comic sense of familial tensions—particularly father-son enmity—is infectious.”—The New Yorker

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.

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Average customer rating 4 (2 comments)

`
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
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.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780802118530
Binding:
Hardcover
Publisher:
ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS
Pages:
416
Height:
8.25 in.
Width:
5.5 in.
Number of Units:
1
UPC Code:
2800802118532
Author:
Porochista Khakpour
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Iranians

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$6.95
List Price:$24.00
Used Hardcover
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