"Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American at Home and
Abroad" by Firoozeh Dumas (Villard, ISBN 9780345499561, $22.00)
Firoozeh Dumas's first book, "Funny
in Farsi," is a hilarious memoir about growing up in an Iranian-American
family in California, and its word-of-mouth journey perfectly illustrates
the beautiful workings of an independent bookstore. The book came to my
attention years ago when a visitor to Wichita recommended it as the funniest
book she'd read in ages. Since then, it's been a perennial go-to pick for
anyone who needs something awesome, light, and uplifting to read on an
airplane. It's so engaging that neither airline food nor the quizzical looks
of fellow passengers will deter you from laughing right out loud.
Now Dumas has published "Laughing Without an Accent," a follow-up collection
of essays telling even more great family stories. These include her efforts
to explain the concept of American "iced tea" to her Persian relatives ("Ice
in tea?! Not possible."), her father's undying love for the game show "The
Price is Right" ("She's going to be a screamer. She'd better not win."), and
Dumas's budding career as a guest speaker at graduation ceremonies and
Rotary Club meetings. (Most requests, she says, come prefaced with the
phrase "Khaled Hosseini was not available.")
Dumas is a storyteller from a family stuffed with stories, and her
willingness to share and to let us all in on the joke is the very definition
of warm-hearted kindness. When a Watermark-sponsored book club recently
chose "Funny in Farsi" as their monthly pick, we in the bookstore received a
lovely surprise the following morning: it was a phone call from Dumas
herself, who thanked us for helping make her books word-of-mouth successes.
And in the acknowledgements at the back of her new book, she thanks all her
readers who still love a good story. "If you bought this book in an
independent bookstore," she adds, "I thank you twice."
You see, we're playing a game of literary tag, and now having read this,
you're a part of it. Word has gone from reader to booksellers, from book
club to author, and back again. The stories, smiles, and guffaws just keep
marching on, proving that affection and laughter really are a universal
language. So when you find yourself "Laughing Without an Accent" at one of
Dumas's books on an idling airplane somewhere, put another link in the
chain. Tell your friends, tell your fellow passengers, tell total strangers,
too: Firoozeh Dumas is a joy, and good stories respect no borders.
Review by
Mark David Bradshaw, May
15, 2008
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