Customer Reviews

Foreigner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been a fan of Nahid Rachlin and her portrayls of Iranian women for some time. Like another reviewer, I couldn't put this book down. In Foreigner, Rachlin explores culture shock (as Feri first feels it as an Iranian studying in the U.S., and then on her return years later to Iran, where it seems as though she is stepping back several centuries, both in people's way of life and way of thinking (e.g., the attitude toward women). When she becomes ill, she has to deal with the fear that medical facilities may be nothing like what is available in the States. In culture shock, she also re-experiences the difference in Eastern and Western ways of thinking. Rachlin makes very clear the unhappiness that comes with exile from one's own country, even if a person is forced to leave for the sake of his/her freedom or even life, and yet, on return to that country, it is never quite the same as remembered. Feri's uncertainty, feeling of being pulled in several directions, and reluctance to follow in her mother's footsteps are entirely understandable. What I find intruiging is this book was written (and takes place) right before the overthrow of the Shah and the Islamic revolution. Feri's decision to go or stay could make an interesting sequel for this book.

Nahid Rachlin's writing is exquisite; she lets you picture Iran in detail even if you have never been there. Her work ought to be publicized more, to give readers a better understanding of the culture and country that she came from.

More than about Iranians and their customs, or the constrasts between Feri's American and Iranian parameters, this book is about a complex psychological discovery -- the acceptance of self. I read it twice because the story haunted me, not unlike the way Iran haunts Feri. The bonus comes from a portrayal of Iran from the inside, a knowledge precious to me an arm chair traveller. This is a thoughtful, extremely concise and well written book, introspective and beautiful. A quiet adventure.

Foreigner is a remarkable story of a young Iranian woman who, as a child, is left with her father when her mother runs off with another man. Her name is Feri, and the beginning of her life urges her to see the western world, and its differences. She decides to study in America - where she ends up settling and becoming a biologist. She marries, buys a house identical with the ones next door- when she should feel complete, she feels emptier than ever. Feri realizes she needs to go back home to Iran.
While in Iran, she reconciles with her family, yet feels uncomfortable with her short hair and slacks among the women in the streets wearing chadors. Upon attempts to leave Iran, she needs a written consent form from her husband, calls and cannot reach him; and goes on a search for her long gone mother. She travels hundreds of miles to see her, and while there meets a doctor when she falls ill - and falls in love with the eastern man. When her husband comes to claim her, Feri must decide between two worlds, and two pieces of her heart.

Nahid Rachlin's novel FOREIGNER is more relevant today than when it was first published in 1978. With globalization now a part of life, the kind of conflict the novel's protagonist Feri faces is more common now than three decades ago. I have only recently read this novel, and am surprised at its topicality. Had I not seen the copyright page, I would have thought that this novel has just been written.
Feri returns to her native Iran after living in the US for fourteen years. She finds herself torn between her native culture and the new culture that she has embraced and admired, having married an American, Tony. Her own country, like any other developing country, is still struggling with poverty and tradition, and she badly misses the many great things that she had become used to in the US, such as American medical services that she nostalgically remembers when she is admitted to a hospital in Iran. But deep down within her there is something that is pulling her to her roots--"a yearning to spend more time with my mother and make up for what was already lost, a need to delve deeper and deeper into my past." She realizes that however great be her present and the future in the US, there is her past that she cannot cut herself adrift from without terrible consequences. "I understood what provoked suicide," as she narrates when unable to sleep one night, "--people taking overdoses of sleeping pills or jumping out of windows. Perhaps they too lay awake in the middle of the night, with their identity and sense of belonging suddenly reversed or blurred."
Yes, she had outgrown the values of Iran, and had professed that she had left behind Iran, with its "monotonous land, broiling sky, and broken down remnants of another civilization," yet she found herself pulled to her roots in Iran so forcefully that she stayed behind in Iran when Tony left for the US. Was she a "foreigner" in the US, or in Iran? She struggles to find an answer, even as the answer becomes clearer day by day.
The emotional landscape of the story extends far beyond the geographical landscape of Iran, where the novel is set. The elite in many countries today find their dreams realized in the US, but gradually they realize that there are realities beyond their dreams. Perching themselves between dreams and realities, they find that Feri's story is their own story.
Nahid Rachlin's masterly narration greatly enhances the impact of the story. A must-read for our times.

Foreigner traces the tragic first visit, after a period of 10 years, of an Iranian lady(Feri) living in America to her birthplace. This is an interesting novel, which captures quite well the intellectual and spiritual confusion she falls into during her visit as she struggles to reconcile the two worlds she knows and decide where she is comfortable. We can feel the breakdown of the secure safe world that Feri has built in America, as she is confronted by her childhood memories, old relatives and knowledge of her long gone mother. The conflict is real, and most of the characters are convincing(though some of the ancillary Iranian characters like Feri's cousin and her family seem to be there only for shock value) The author does not take the easy way out by presenting clear cut old Iran v/s rational modern America opposites. All is not well with both the very modern American husband Tony's life as well as Feri's American life. But this is a personal story as well as a cultural one(and the issues dealt with are personal as well as cultural), of a woman finding and connecting with her long lost mother, one she has pined many years for.

The civilizational conflict of the main character is well depicted(for example, Feri starts to see her American work to be empty, yet is happy to have modern American facilities in the hopital she visits). But the dichotomy we see on the surface through all this is false, there are more layers of complexity in the book. This is not an either/or situation, and one does not have to completely reject the modern for tradition or vice versa. The author acknowledges this; Feri knows her renunciation can only be temporary, the future is uncertain and could be tragic because of the renunciation. And in this we recognize the character's tragedy, an undeveloped sense of Self, a tragedy faced by many making the transition from traditional to modern. The novel captures this beautifully. And ironically this appears as a parable for her country, which itself is emerging after many years of 'renunciation' to a new yet unclear life.

I am a Sophomore college student, and this book was actually assigned for my ethics class. I didn't really have a strong urge to read it, but seeing as it was assigned, I read anyway. I started reading it yesterday, and finished it today. As other reviewers here have said, I didn't want to put it down. The writing style had enough "hooks" to keep me wanting to see what would happen next or what I would discover about Feri and her relationships. It is a very easy and quick read, and gives me a much better understanding of a culture that I'm sure few Americans know about.

An interesting book depicting the life of poorer people in Iran prior to the Islamic revolution of 1979. Looking from the perspective of later events, I found touching the deep religious feelings (without the fanatism brought by the mullahs) combined with the Iranian love of poetry, music, dance and parties--all these traits wiped out by the revolution. I have known briefly Iran prior to the revolution, and lives of some representatives of its middle class. It was heartwarming to discover that the majority of population shared the same feelings. It made me even sadder to think of the present day Iran. I hope people reading the new edition of this book realize that unfortunately Iran depicted in it doesn't exist any more.

Nahid Rachlin's novel is fascinating in its depiction of the cultural devide between Iran and the U.S. Her main character Feri is very sympathetic and really comes to life on the pages.It is an extremely well written book. I have already read it twice and would recommend it highly!I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

Foreigner, the novel by Nahid Rachlin, explores the cultural differences between the United States and Iran in a very thoughtful and interesting way through the eyes of her characters. Ms. Rachlin's development of the main character, Feri, is brilliant. Her character is so fully illuminated that you feel that you know her as well as a close friend by the end of the book.Once you start reading Foreigner, you can not put it down. You should certainly start reading it. I would even like to give the book more than 5 stars!!!

I found this book to be an eye-opening account of family life. Rachlin's softly understated tone leads you to not just read the story, but flex your mind to pick up the significant details. The resulting facts that stand out in the individual readers mind make for a much more personal story. It is a rare occasoin where one book will make me re-think my own writing style, but this one has certainly accomplished that. I found it amazing how as the authour delved deeper into the past, the reader started to lose track of the passage of present time on a day-by-day basis. While ordinarily I find books with flashbacks to be confusing, I thought that in this book they wernt flashbacks at all-there almost seemed to be no difference between them and the present action. I am useully cannot identify with a female main charicter. I liked the fact that this is maybe the first book I have ever read (or movie I have ever watched, for that matter)where the author develops the heroine enough so that when she is indecisive it dosnt just seem like a sterotype-I came to doubt that I could have taken any other course of action. Foreigner helped to humanize Eastern cultures to me. Crimes of passion never really seemed to be possible in a world where the very mention of sex was almost against the law, yet this book helped to point out that where-ever there are people, there will always be sexual drive. Would the shame between Feri's mother and father have been lessend in a more "open" culture? I loved the way that Rachlin painted a picture of people supremely sublime and able to enjoy the small pleasures in the shadow of a country stricken by harsh law and realitive poverty. I felt that had the tone not been so understated, however, the sudden appearence of Tony could be taken as nothing more than a soap-oprea. Rachlins unique style seems not only to make the book more interesting but to be intrinsic to the plot. The ending left me slightly unsatisfied, slightly...wistful. Dosnt that make the whole thing more realilistic? I could, however, actually smell the river, taste the dust, and feel the sun of Zeinab setting on a beautiful story about how a family is a family anywhere in the world. Thank you, Nahid Rachlin, for a story that has touched my life personaly and that has taught me more about anthor way of life than anything short of experincing a peice of it for myself.