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Funny in Farsi
Firoozeh Dumas Book Review

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Plot Summary of Funny in Farsi
"Funny in Farsi (Random House, 2003) is Firoozeh Dumas' autobiography. The book spans Dumas' 9th year, when she first moved from small town Iran to Whittier, California. She writes about her experiences as an immigrant -- with a humorous twist. She laughs about not understanding the English language, getting lost at Disneyland, and money-earning schemes.

Dumas' stories are told from an immigrant's perspectives; her contact with the Iranian revolution was through familial stories and the injustices visited upon her by her American countrymen in Newport Beach, CA. Each chapter, as the title suggests, is marked by humorous lines -- one-liners, descriptions that make the reader laugh out loud, eccentric people, and funny scenes that punctuate her point of view that all people, no matter where they come from, have similar needs and interests."

Samantha S., Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Funny in Farsi
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Ethnic/Relig. of subject (inside) - Arab
Gender/Class story? - immigrant story
If this is a culture clash: - minority culture living in majority area
Ethnic/regional/gender Yes
ethnic of society (outside) - American (west coast)
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+
Big/small town? - small town

Subject of Biography
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity - Arab
How sensitive is this person? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other people

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 ()
United States Yes
The US: - California
Century: - 1980's-Present

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Is book humorous? Yes
If humorous, kind of humor - puns - eccentric personalities - sarcastic/sardonic - gentle
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - race - love/sex - war - religion
Story of entire life, or part? - story of nearly entire life
How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog
How much is philosophy rather than life story? - 0-25% of book
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Firoozeh Dumas Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Samantha S.  

SCHOLARS:


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