My Uncle Napoleon : A Novel (Hardcover)

by Iraj Pezeshkzad (Author), Dick Davis (Translator) "NOTE: The word "Khan," which often follows masculine names, is an honorific used to show respect (particularly from a younger to an older person) or,..." (more)
Key Phrases: sweetbrier bush, huge face close, uncle colonel, Mash Qasem, Asadollah Mirza, Dustali Khan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The obsessions of Dear Uncle Napoleon, as Pezeshkzad's eponymous Iranian patriarch is nicknamed, furnish this epic, episodic farce with a multitude of mock heroic elements: the "centuries old" honor of his petty aristocratic family; the propriety of his distant relatives; the care of his prize sweetbrier; his mythologized exploits in a Cossack regiment; his hero-worship of Bonaparte; and, above all, his paranoia about English international intrigue on his doorstop. Dear Uncle's extended family's antics don't so much distract him as exacerbate his eccentricities with each new misunderstanding, private feud, clandestine affair and arranged marriage. Told from the naive perspective of Dear Uncle's least-favorite nephew (who is chastely, adolescently in love with his daughter), Pezeshkzad's tale, first published in Iran in the early 1970s, seems innocently obsolete after the Iranian Revolution, like Wodehouse after the Blitz, with its comedy relying heavily on conventions?verbal tics, frenetic dialogue, farcical action and acrobatic reversals of fortune. Pezeshkzad supplies an instantly recognizable, universal cast: the foolish family retainer (the Sancho Panza to Dear Uncle's Quixote), the worldly and womanizing uncle, the disgruntled brother-in-law, the officious local police officer, the brawny butcher with an attractive younger wife. While such characters made the novel a huge bestseller and a national touchstone for comic types in Iran, they don't make the best international travelers, and stateside readers may have trouble discerning, or caring about, how they satirize specific elements of Iranian society.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American
A giddily uproarious mixture of farce and slapstick.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 507 pages
• Publisher: Mage Pub; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934211485
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211482
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,645 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A World-Class Comic Masterpiece!, August 10, 1997

By	David "David" (Dunn Loring, Virginia) - See all my reviews

Americans have become so accustomed to seeing televised images of dour Ayatollahs and grim-faced Iranian demonstrators shouting "Death to the Great Satan" that we have forgotten that Iran is also the land of Omar Khayyam. Pezeshkzad and his characters have more in common with the 12th century poet than the religious revolutionaries who overthrew the Shah would like, and the readers will give thanks with laughter. Early in World War II, the unnamed 15-year-old narrator becomes infatuated with his first cousin Layli, the daughter of the narrator's uncle, derisively nicknamed Napoleon for constantly voicing admiration for the French general. At a family gathering, the narrator's father vents annoyance with Uncle Napoleon's unending inflation of his military record (Uncle Napoleon's four-man gendarmerie squad over the years had been transformed into dozens of army battalions thwarting the plans of British imperialism). For his father's offense, the narrator is banned from seeing his beloved Layli, who Uncle Napoleon betrothes to the narrator's horse-faced cousin Puri. The narrator turns to his cousin Asadollah, a bon vivant and womanizer extraordinaire, for advice in stopping the wedding and winning Layli. The action builds to a climax when the British occupy Tehran. The results . . . well, I won't give it away. But if you like laugh-out-loud farce mixed with sharp-eyed satire, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It belongs on a very short list of comic masterpieces of world literature

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Delightful, February 12, 2001

By	Bukkene Bruse (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Uncle Napoleon (Paperback)

My Uncle Napoleon is a hilarious examination of a part of Iranian society in the 1940's. The character development is the strongest aspect of the book and the situational comedy is also very good. I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces; these two novels share many qualities.

My Uncle Napoleon gives a portrayal of Iran that is very different from what is provided by the mainstream press. While the aristocratic characters belong to a place and time that is long gone, the mannerisms and character types satirized in the book are still present to some degree in many Iranians.

Read this book if you want a good laugh or a glimpse of Iranian culture you could not otherwise get.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Iranian Classic Finally Translated Brilliantly in English, January 18, 2001

By	Mehrdad Modjtahedi "mehrdadmodjtahedi" (Placentia, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Uncle Napoleon (Paperback)

My Uncle Napoleon (aka: Daei Jon Napelon) is one of the great Iranian masterpieces. Although the story is sure to inform the non-Iranian reader about WWII era Iran, its true topic is one that anyone can relate to - true love. This book will remind you what it was like to have a crush on someone that was unavailable. Much like Charles Shulz's Charlie Brown and the "Little Red Haired Girl," our novel's protagonist has fallen madly in love with someone that is inaccessible to him. Meanwhile, interfamily politics keep rocking the young man's already unstable boat. What I like most about this book is how heart wrenching emotions and laugh out loud comedy go hand in hand, much like in real life. It is this book's realism that is its greatest asset, everything from the characters to the emotions within this book are a true reflection of real life. Dick Davis has done a magnificent job translating this novel, all of the characters' original dialogue and various ethnic colloquialisms remain intact. As a result this book is a fantastic insight into Iran for the non-Iranian reader. Not to mention that you are sure to win many Brownie points with your Iranian friends/colleagues if they find out that you have read this book. This is because My Uncle Napoleon is a part of Iranian culture that is very personal to most Iranians. It was made into a famous television miniseries in the seventies (alas it is still left untranslated) that to this day is one of the most popular shows in Iranian history. Most Iranians have a worn out set of VHS tapes somewhere in their house that attest to this. So please hesitate no more, and order this wonderful book. I'm sure that you will treasure it.