• 'Funny in Farsi' is a collection of chronological anecdotes, often very amusing, about the author, her family, and their transition to life in America. Bicycle touring accounts often mention the incredible hospitality of the Iranian people. This book gives an inside view of one extended family. They make Italians look like aloof anorectics.
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• Funny in Farsi “A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love— of family, country, and heritage.” —Jimmy Carter “Charming. This is a gentle life story by an author who clearly loves her fellow man, and who is dedicated to pointing out the deliciously absurd aspects of.

Created by Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. With Joseph Buttler, Tim Conlon, Bil Dwyer, David Gore. An Iranian family emigrates to 1970s Newport Beach, California.

Funny in Farsi: Book Review the first alliterative words of the title, Funny in Farsi establishes a hilarious tone, which continues throughout each chapter of the memoir. Firoozeh Dumas began to write Funny in Farsi as a personal memoir, but later realized that she shared the memoir with her father, Kazem. The memoir follows Dumas and her family during the 1970s, after they emigrate from Iran to the United States. Each chapter of the book describes a new adventure, or problem, for the family, usually involved with their assimilation into the American culture. Although Dumas' tone remains mostly funny throughout the book, some of the chapters describe the struggle, and even pain of emigrating from Iran. Overall, Funny in Farsi presents a new side of immigrants from the Middle East countries, a refreshing side, less familiar to Western readers, and gives a positive view of both Iran and the United States.
Funny in Farsi begins with Dumas and her family's first days in America, trying to learn English, as well as the entire American culture. Although Kazem, her father, studied for graduate school in Texas, his English consisted of engineering terms, and provided little help for his family. Once established, the family goes on many adventures, from Disneyland to Bowling for Dollars and shares many humorous mishaps associated with the gap between Iranian and American culture. Kazem's love of Disneyland brought the entire family, with countless guests, to the theme park countless time. However, when Firoozeh lost her family at Disneyland, at age seven, she experienced her first realization of the ignorance of Americans, expressing her sarcastic view, “Despite the belief of most Westerners that all Middle Easterners look alike,” when a Disney employee asked her to talk with another lost foreign child who spoke no English. As Iranian immigrants during the 1970's, even in California, Dumas and her family seem like outsiders. However, Funny in Farsi establishes a new tone, facing adaptation, and American culture with humor. The family blends into American culture, with a refreshing open-mindedness, still keeping some Iranian traditions, but also accepting, for example, Kentucky Fried Chicken over a decadent Persian meal when they realize the impossibility of cooking without servants. Not without its serious moments, Funny in Farsi also describes some of the prejudice in American during the 1970's. In the chapter, I ran and I ran and I ran Dumas especially addresses the issue of prejudice, through the visit of the shah, when protesters attacked the entire Iranian crowd along with Dumas and her family, while they listened to the shah's speech. Dumas gracefully addresses delicate issues, such as the Islamic faith, using Kazem's wise words, as he explains his love of ham but also his faith as a Muslim, for her view of religions: “It's not what we eat or don't eat that makes us good people; it's how we treat one another.” Dumas and her family successfully establish a balance between Iranian and American cultures, inspiring the reader to be open to new cultures, and face the world with humor rather than violence.
Funny in Farsi establishes a new view of immigrants from the Middle East, and the region as a whole, showing a humorous side of the people indigenous to that region. In addition to the positive views of the Middle East, Dumas also writes with an affirmative view of America from the perspective of an immigrant, incorporating the theme of immigrant assimilation, and showing universal difficulties, still relevant today. Although books regarding the Middle East often skew toward either the Middle East or the United States, Dumas shares love for both parts of the world. Funny in Farsi appeals universally, a best seller in Iran, as well as in the United States. By writing such a charming, and funny book, Dumas creates a refreshing view of each nation, for the other nation. Dumas also highlights her father's words, “How said it is that people so easily hate an entire population simply because of the actions of a few,” and brings to attention the bias established regarding the Middle East. Funny in Farsi brings about a new genre, Pro-Middle East and Pro-American, sharing her memoir to create identifiable issues for immigrants, but also to show her love of America. The humor in Funny in Farsi connects all the topics Dumas addresses, making the book a light read, with a lasting impact.
Although her first work, Dumas' Funny in Farsi shows promising writing, and her second book, Laughing Without an Accent, is currently in publishing. Funny in Farsi was published by Random House in 2003, and is sold for $12.95.

Family

The predominant theme of the book is the importance of family. Firoozeh's family are exceptionally tightly-knit and not only appreciate each other but appreciate the love they all have for each other. Although her father never made the millions he dreamed of making he told Firoozeh that because of his family he was a very rich man. Everything revolves around family - celebrations, vacations, holidays, swimming lessons, education and every happening that can be made into a celebration. Throughout the book, the importance of family is emphasized and presented as something to treasure.

Food

Funny In Farsi Book Summary

Food is an ongoing theme and the family's favorite pastime; the author says that if endurance eating was an Olympic sport her family would be gold medalists and they celebrate anything and everything with food. Her father loves to explore America one fast food outlet at a time. Every occasion is marked with food and food is used to illustrate the differences between Persian and American life. Food is an obsession that features in every chapter of the book.

Prejudice Against Iranians

Funny In Farsi Questions

The subject of prejudice was not really an issue for the family when they first arrived as nobody really knew where Iran was at the time and incredible friendship was extended to the family because they were new and unfamiliar with American culture. However, the theme of prejudice underpins much of the latter part of the book as after the Iranian revolution the opinion of Iranians was low; after Iranian terrorists took Americans hostage the family felt more antagonism and although it is not a theme in the book that is constantly repeated, it is definitely underlying in the way in which the author throws in observations and off the cuff passages about the experience of feeling that unsaid prejudices were definitely bubbling under the surface in a number of situations.