Persian Girls and over 450,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

19 used & new from $4.59

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Persian Girls: A Memoir
 
 
Start reading Persian Girls on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Persian Girls: A Memoir [Bargain Price] (Hardcover)

~ Nahid Rachlin (Author)
Key Phrases: black chador, New York, Pahlavi Avenue, United States (more...)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


9 new from $7.45 10 used from $4.59
This is a bargain book and quantities are limited. Bargain books are new but could include a small mark from the publisher and an Amazon.com price sticker identifying them as such. See details.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $9.99  
Hardcover --  
Hardcover, Bargain Price, October 5, 2006 --  
Paperback, Bargain Price $5.98  

Special Offers and Product Promotions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This lyrical and disturbing memoir by the author of four novels (Foreigner, etc.) tells the story of an Iranian girl growing up in a culture where, despite the Westernizing reforms of the Shah, women had little power or autonomy. As an infant in 1946, Rachlin was given to her mother's favorite sister, a widow who had been unable to conceive, and was lovingly raised among supportive widows who took refuge in religion from their frustrations as women in an oppressive society. But at the age of nine, Rachlin's father, whom she barely knew, met her at school without warning and brought her to Ahvaz to live with her birth family. Miserable in the new household, young Nahid was befriended by her American movie–obsessed sister Pari. Both sisters developed artistic ambitions, but only Nahid managed to escape the typical female fate, convincing her father to send her to college in the U.S. Less lucky is Pari, whose life of arranged marriage, divorce from an abusive husband and estrangement from her son ends in depression and early death. Exuding the melancholy of an outsider, this memoir gives American readers rare insight into Iranians' ambivalence toward the United States, the desire for American freedom clashing with resentment of American hegemony. (Oct. 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

Nahid's life plays out against a backdrop of tragedy. She has escaped to America, but she's lost so much of what she loved...the author doesn't comment directly on the meaning of these events. She just tells the tales of individuals crushed. This is just a story of how it was, during a certain period of time, for one upper-middle-class family in Iran, destroyed from within and without by forces it couldn't begin to reckon with. -- Carolyn See, The Washington Post --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Tarcher (October 5, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1585425206
  • ASIN: B000R344PW
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #685,396 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #61 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Women in Islam

More About the Author

Nahid Rachlin
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Nahid Rachlin Page

Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

Citations (learn more)
This book cites 13 books:
See all 13 books this book cites

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
5 star:
 (28)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Triumphant and a Must Read for Women, October 4, 2007
By J. A Carty "Jessie Carty" (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I read "Persian Girls" very quickly. I think this was in large part due to the simplicity, yet power, of the writing. The only complaint I have with the memoir is that at times it felt that there was something under the surface that the author still could not say about her relationships with the women in her life. There is a feeling of non-resolution, but--strangely enough--I also felt the author was comfortable with that ambiguity.

I think all women should read this book, especially women in America. I already knew a good bit about the repression of women in other countries but the simple, straightforward matter in which Rachlin recounts her life is one that will be easy for anyone to read. Easy in the reading, but sad in the subject matter.

There is probably a lot that could be said about this memoir but for me--on a personal note--I came away wanting to know more about the Iranian women I have known throughout my life (my uncle married an Iranian woman) and what brought them to this country. Did they ever see their families after they left? How much of their culture do they still feel drawn to etc?

Nothing works like good non-fiction to get me thinking about myself and what I bring to the world.

Good read. (I read over the span of two flights, so I would suggest it for a plane read for sure!)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Just finished Nahid Rachlin's fascinating memoir..., April 3, 2007
Well, Mrs. Rachlin has gained another fan.
I was just mesmerized with the weave of her writings, in "Persian Girls". A fascinating depiction of the life, culture and traditions in Iran as she experienced them, and how they related to and affected her family and friends.
I reccomend this book as a good read.

Thank you Nahid Rachlin...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BOLD, UPLIFTING MEMOIR, January 9, 2007
By I. Appleton "i appleton" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews
After chancing upon a diminuative author reading a startlingly gutsy memoir to a bookstore audience, I ordered and read for myself the courageous adventures of Ms. Rachlin. The author's uncompromising rebelliousness coupled with her intense love for a sister and an aunt fuels the book. Bejeweled with many Iranian cultural details, (foods, fabrics, flowers, fountains, families, etc.), lovingly and simply described and set at the menacing center of turbulent historical and individual events, Nahid Rachlin has forged a spare, luminous memoir of human sorrows and victories. I think other readers will wish, as I did, that the book was longer.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Compellingly beautiful memoir, a must-read
I am a huge fan of Nahid Rachlin's fiction and in fact, even traveled across the country to take a writing workshop with her several years ago because I was so impressed by her... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lisa D. Ellis

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Memoir
I read this excellent memoir in two sittings. The writing is fluid and compelling and easily takes you into the author's life in Iran and into the lives of the writer's two... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Harvee L.

3.0 out of 5 stars Tragic all the way through
I was engrossed by this story as I read it, but in the end, I was sorry to find that Nahid seems to remain a prisoner of her circumstances even in her adult life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Annie Hogue

5.0 out of 5 stars The Struggle for Love and Healing Loss
This memoir by Ms. Rachlin reminded me of Arundhati Roy's story about "the love laws"--the cultural taboos that decide who gets loved, how, and how much. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Daniel Raphael

4.0 out of 5 stars Persian Girls
I have never read a memoir that has compared with this book. I simply could not put the book down. Instantly I orderd Rachlin's other books, as she is an amazing, engagin writer
Published 8 months ago by Joan M. Mcnichols

5.0 out of 5 stars supression of women
On the surface, Persian Girls might be thought of as a book for women. Another reader's review implies this. It also seems to be just about Iranian women. Read more
Published 8 months ago by H. Blue

5.0 out of 5 stars A BEAUTIFUL BOOK
If I hadn't known ahead of time that young Nahid survives her youth in Iran (and later the U.S)., I would have found my anxiety for this sensitive girl unbearable. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jessica Anya Blau, author, The...

1.0 out of 5 stars Eastern Openion
the reader should note that the author came from a very compicated family for that she is describing the iranian and islamic society from her eyes ... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Abdullah Adil

4.0 out of 5 stars very well written and capturing. Describes two different socities, standards, values while following the same traditions
A well written book that captures the reader by the details of an ordinary life for two different classes of Iranians before the Islamic gov. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Rosy Moinzadeh

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong, Independent Woman
For me, the most interesting thing about Rachlin's very interesting memoir was the incredible strength she showed in forging a life for herself that was so different from the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Cookbookaddict

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!



Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.