166 - ketab farsi

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Book Review:
Briefly Noted
By: Mojgan Moghadam Rahbar
Bone Worship, by Elizabeth
Eslami (Pegasus; $15.95). In her
debut novel, Iranian American
author Eslami writes about her life
and experiences as the daughter of
an American mother and Iranian
father. Jasmin Fahroodi returns
home after spending four years at
a top American university without
graduating, due to her failing
grades. Throughout her childhood
and in college she has found it
hard to make friends and express
herself. Jasmin believes that most
of this awkwardness is because of
her father’s discomfited behavior
which she believes extends from his
cultural background. Dr. Fahroodi
enjoys a certain amount of respect
from his patients and colleagues at
the small town where he practices
medicine, but he is not able to make
friends with any of his associates no
matter what country they are from.
Jasmin’s brother has left the family
in pursuit of his own dreams which
did not meet with their father’s
stern conviction that he should
study to become a doctor. Upon
returning home her father believes
that the only path open to her, after
failing school and choosing not to
pursue medicine, is to get married.
So, he goes in a serious search for
Khastegars who would date and
perhaps marry his daughter. The
relationship between Jasmin and
her father is full of ambiguity and
she believes that her father’s lack of
affection stems from his different
culture. Dr. Fahroodi does not like
to talk about his days in Iran or
his family so it is even harder for
Jasmin to understand him. This is
perhaps why she believes that all
the strange behaviors that her father
shows are because of his Iranian
culture. There are some parts of
the book that make it hard for an
Iranian to identify with Jasmin or
her father. For example, one of her
Iranian khastegars is named Omar.
As far as I know Iranians are not too
fond of Omar in a historical sense
and there is no way that any Iranian
would call their son by that name.
So, sometimes it is hard to believe
if the book is representing a true
Iranian American conflict or just a
limited perception of one individual
who cannot explain the strangeness
of her father and the only reason
she can come up with is that he was
born and raised in another country.
Traditions Linger, by Leah R.
Baer PhD (Mazda Publishers;
$35). As an American Jew, Baer
was very interested to know about
the life and traditions of the Iranian
Jewry while studying in a special
exchange program at Ferdowsi
University in Mashhad, Iran in the
summer of 1978. She was surprised
to find how different the cultural and
traditional beliefs and ceremonies
of Iranian Jews were compared to
those of European heritage. These
interests prompted her to research
and write about the history and life
of Iranian Jews in Iran and follow
the cultural changes that have taken
place within this community in
the United States. Baer has done
a wonderful job of explaining the
complicated history of Iranian
Jews in a brief and easy to follow
narrative and describe the sense of
cultural identity that each Iranian
American Jew feels and wants to
hold on to.