Rating: 
Summary: simply written, yet compassionate on both sides
Review: Just finished this book as part of a Middle Eastern fiction period I'm going through. I expected this to be a clone of Not Without My Daughter (although that is nonfiction) but I was quite wrong. The author, an Iranian woman who lives and teaches in New York, was able to show all characters with compassion and respect for their points of view. She was able to point out bad things that happened both in the U.S. and Iran without condemning either country or culture. She let the characters tell the story, and left them with hope at the end. I do remember the hostage crisis in the late 1970s, and many Iranians in the U.S. were retaliated against for something they had nothing to do with. The author, through some of the characters, is able to make readers feel the unfairness of this treatment. While I may not agree with every point of view in a different culture, it is helpful to begin to understand them.
Rating:
Summary: loo
Review: Take this book to the smallest room in the house, use it deservedly and flush it through the system all the way to the sewers. But as it going to feel rough on the skin, it's not even good enough for that.
Rating: 
Summary: Stereotyped and flawed but it still held my interest
Review: The author is an Iranian woman living in New York and this book is an attempt to help Americans understand Iran and its people. The story is of an American woman, married to an Iranian who travel to Iran with their small son. A few years ago I saw a movie called "Not Without My Daughter" with Sally Fields about the same theme. I remember how much I identified with the American woman as I did in this book.The book is short and not well written. The story has been told before. I was impatient throughout, but yet fascinated by the descriptions of Iran, and the thinking of the people. The book needed editing. There are basic writing flaws. Too much use of the phrases like "he obviously felt" instead of just describing how the character felt. And while I did understand more about Iran, it was all on the surface and the characters were stereotyped and never came across as particular individuals. I couldn't seem to put the book down but I attribute that more to my thirst for knowledge than the skill of the author. I think it would be a good "young adult" book for those interested in learning more about Iran. Otherwise, I can't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Stereotyped and flawed but it still held my interest
Review: The author is an Iranian woman living in New York and this book is an attempt to help Americans understand Iran and its people. The story is of an American woman, married to an Iranian who travel to Iran with their small son. A few years ago I saw a movie called "Not Without My Daughter" with Sally Fields about the same theme. I remember how much I identified with the American woman as I did in this book. The book is short and not well written. The story has been told before. I was impatient throughout, but yet fascinated by the descriptions of Iran, and the thinking of the people. The book needed editing. There are basic writing flaws. Too much use of the phrases like "he obviously felt" instead of just describing how the character felt. And while I did understand more about Iran, it was all on the surface and the characters were stereotyped and never came across as particular individuals. I couldn't seem to put the book down but I attribute that more to my thirst for knowledge than the skill of the author. I think it would be a good "young adult" book for those interested in learning more about Iran. Otherwise, I can't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent view of the differences between two cultures.
Review: This book is definitely worth your time. The author beautifully reveals the differences between the two cultures with almost no bias or judgement. I strongly recommend reading it as it honestly depicts the emotional journey of an immigrant and his wife as the immigrant faces the reality of living in a foreign country. The book makes the reader think about deep emotional impacts of the native culture that we may or may not be aware of. At the end, the story does not really end but remains open which allows the reader to continue thinking about what would seperate two people from two cultures and what could bring them together. I hope that there will be a sequel to this book that shows the characters later on in their lives, like after 10 or 20 years.
Rating: 
Summary: Scenic
Review: Was very disappointed to see a Persian writer write such things... Americans already have a bad view of us and Iran.. Why make it worse?
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Was very disappointed to see a Persian writer write such things... Americans already have a bad view of us and Iran.. Why make it worse?
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