To See and See Again: A Life in Iran and America [Paperback]

Tara Bahrampour (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520223543 | ISBN-13: 978-0520223547 | Publication Date: August 29, 2000 | Edition: 1

A compelling and intimate exploration of the complexity of a bicultural immigrant experience, To See and See Again traces three generations of an Iranian (and Iranian-American) family undergoing a century of change--from the author's grandfather, a feudal lord with two wives; to her father, a freespirited architect who marries an American pop singer; to Bahrampour herself, who grows up balanced precariously between two cultures and comes of age watching them clash on the nightly news.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The daughter of an American singer and an Iranian architect does justice to both her heritages in this thoughtful memoir. Tara Bahrampour spent most of her childhood in Tehran, but in 1979 she fled from there with her family as the unfolding Islamic revolution made Iran unsafe for anyone with Western ties. While her parents struggled to make a living in the U.S., Bahrampour worked on becoming an American teenager, though she still felt strong ties to the warm, communal world she left behind. Returning for a visit in 1994, Bahrampour found a nation too complex to be properly described by political stereotypes--a transitional society where her female relatives slept in lacy negligees and watched illegal American videos, but also drove around with a tape of Khomeini's speeches in their car's cassette player. During her stay, despite some scary encounters with hostile officials, Bahrampour rediscovered a continuity she could never find anywhere else--the links to kin and to history that are alive in the Iranian landscape. This rootedness, she accepts, will never be hers as an Iranian American, yet her thoughtful examination of what she has gained and lost affirms the value of a life informed by two cultures. --Wendy Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This latest addition to the growing body of memoirs of multicultural childhoods is an entertaining account of an upper-middle-class upbringing in Iran and the United States. Skillfully deploying anecdotes of cross-cultural encounters, Bahrampour keeps her narrative moving briskly through her early girlhood in Tehran with her American mother and Iranian father, her adolescence on the American West Coast and her return to Iran after college. Bahrampour shows a light touch is everywhere evident as she details teen culture in 1980s California and her experiences in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran. Upon her return to Iran, she notes the banned TV satellite dish of her neighbors, which they hide from roving helicopters by a line of laundry. Deadpan, she wonders "if the authorities will ever realize that that shirt, that tablecloth, and that towel must be dry by now." However, Bahrampour overestimates the interest readers will have in her family life: only the exotic appeal of Iran to Americans distinguishes a narrative many people in their 20s could have written about alienation and how their dating habits distressed their families. Bahrampour's ultimate lesson?that "it is always the place you cannot go to that is the good one"?is as germane to people who have always lived in one shiny American suburb as it is to those who have shuttled between two very different cultures.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 357 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (August 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520223543
• ISBN-13: 978-0520223547
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #896,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely interesting., September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: To See and See Again: A Life in Iran and America (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm a "full blooded" Iranian who has spent almost her entire life in the US and I learned a lot about how difficult it is to be "do-rageh" as a child, a teen and as an adult. I have some friends who are mixed and I understand their situations a little bit better now.

I didn't always agree with how the author represented how it is to be Iranian and sometimes I was a little angry with her but on the other hand, she did an excellent job demystifying Iranians and the Persian culture. I just came back from Iran a few months ago and a lot of the sights and smells that she describes in her book brought back a lot of good memories from my trip.

I hope she explores this subject further.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, even for those who don't know about the culture, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: To See and See Again: A Life in Iran and America (Hardcover)

I have no personal connections to Iranian culture but I was absolutely enthralled in this book. Bahrampour's vivid descriptions remind you of your own childhood. The book is written for those who don't know a whole lot about the culture, and she does an excellent job of making you feel as though the culture is your own. This book made me want to visit Iran and learn even more about the culture.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book---has created a quest for knowledge in me, March 2, 2002

By 

Suzanne Amara (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: To See and See Again: A Life in Iran and America (Paperback)

I haven't read a book for a long time that opened up so many worlds to me as this one did. It made me want to read much more about Iran. Like many Americans, before reading this account of a life lived between Iran and America, I knew little about life in Iran, and even less about the life of women there. I had no idea what a rich and fascinating culture it was. The author writes so well---and one thing I really liked was the balance between this being a book about her and her life and about the culture in general. Some books become like an excuse for self-analysis, and others like a disguised history book, but this one hit just the right balance. I hope I will read more some day by this talented writer.