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This lighthearted memoir chronicles the author's move from Iran to America in 1971 at age seven, the antics of her extended family and her eventual marriage to a Frenchman. The best parts will make readers laugh out loud, as when she arrives in Newport Beach, Calif., "a place where one's tan is a legitimate topic of conversation...
Discussion Questions:
- One one level, this book is about the immigration experience. On another level, it is the story of Dumas growing up as someone who belonged (and yet didn't) to not one but two cultures. What does her writing reflect on both levels?
- Do you feel she handled the issue of passage of time appropriately so as to give the reader a sense of now and then?
- What do you wish Dumas had shared but didn't?
- What did you think was the best passage or concept?
- What did you like/not like about this story?
- Can you identify with any of the aspects of the writer's character? Which aspect is easy or difficult for you to identify with? How does that affect your experience in reading this book?
- In what way might the reading of this story change the way you think about your own story?
- How does this memoir compare with others we have read in this circle with respect to the conflict in cultures and/or immigration? (For example A Single Square Picture)
Last updated: 04/06/04
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