Customer Reviews

Wedding Song: Memoirs of an Iranian Jewish Woman (HBI Series on Jewish Women)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow! I am married to an Persian Jew who emigrated here in 1979 to attend college. His family escaped Iran after the revolution. My mother in law(from Shiraz) recognizes Farideh's family from the photos. Her uncle's wife's mother is pictured in the book. This book tells a very real story about growing up female and Jewish in Iran. Descriptions of every day living, food, culture and history etc have been confirmed by my husband and his family as I asked questions while I read this book. It helped me to better understand their lives there and how they react and live in the U.S. today. This is a book that should be read by first generation Persians(I am buying copies for my neices) in the U.S., as well as students here who want to understand life inside Iran, past and present; Very enlightening and well written.

Truth often lies in the overlooked details -- a look, a touch, a
thought unspoken. Farideh Goldin is a master at capturing these
details, vividly drawing readers into the hearts and minds of Jewish
women in twentieth century Iran. Through first-person narrative, Goldin
also brings to life the historical relationship between Jews and
Muslims in the Middle East, offering a fresh perspective on the
struggles between peoples of the region. Honest, bold, and gripping,
Wedding Song is a must-read for people of all ethnicities. -- Loolwa
Khazzoom

Goldin has written a richly evocative portrait of her life growing up in an Iranian Jewish family. Written openly and unabashedly from her perspective as first a young girl and later an adult woman, the complexity of emotion and a vividness of recollection makes the book truly stand out and offer something new in the literature of women's, Jewish and Iranian/Middle Eastern studies. The author clearly communicates both her pain and pride at her life and origins. A must-read for anyone interested in the lives of women in the Muslim Middle East or in the experiences of the Jewish communities there.

In what is possibly the first memoir by and Iranian Jewish woman and one of the few Mizrachi memoirs available in English, Goldin describes her girlhood in the ghetto of the Shiraz; family, religion and culture; and how she broke tradition by first studying math at Pahlavi University, then visiting the U.S. and marrying an American. Goldin pays special attention to the particularities of women's lives. There are frank descriptions of first menstruation and first visit to the mikveh and the custom of adolescent marriage which persisted into her mother's generation (Goldin's mother was 15 when she gave birth to the author). By turns fiercely honest, subtle and lyrical, Wedding Song is an important addition to Jewish women's autobiographical literature. It is featured in the international bibliography of Jewish women's autobiography that I compiled with poet Irena Klepfisz and that is available on my website.

Farideh Goldin has taken us on a journey to Shiraz, Iran. A journey different from many others, she reveals to us life behind the closed doors of a ghetto. Her use of Farsi expressions such as najess / inpure expose the inner workings of a Shi'te society, and provide us with an authentic exposure to life in non-western society. This book depicts life as lived by a woman who witnesses radical changes in a life time, changes that took a course of centuries in Europe. Goldin's story is the story of a brave woman re-evaluating norms that have been practiced blindly from generation to generation.

I loved Roya Hakakian's Journey from the Land of No, so I ordered this book since the topic is similar. I enjoyed Goldin's book just as much. Although Goldin's writing is not as polished and professional as Hakakian, she lived in a far more backwards region of Iran, thus the story was even more incredible. I felt as if I were transported back in time by Goldin. I recommend this book to everyone.

Reading this book transports you to another world, another time. Faridah and I are the same age. I grew up in the heart of the Richmond, Virginia's Jewish community while she was in Shiraz. Our adult lives paralled, but our youth was worlds away. I had BBG, USY, and the JCC while she lived in a world not dissimilar to that described in "The Red Tent". I marvel at how she has come to be the woman she is today despite her family and life experiences. Through her text, you can smell the food and feel the pulse of the market. You are with her in the University and feel the terror as she tries to leave Iran. Looking at the family pictures it is hard to imagine the life she led in Iran. I can't imagine what it must be like for women there now. The courage it took to breakaway and leave is hard to imagine. This is a book every American woman should read to understand how lucky we are to have been born in America. I will be giving a copy to all the women in my family. Thank you Faridah for sharing your life and reminding me how lucky we are.

Of all things, how would you like to be a Jew in Iran? The young girl was an outcast in her own family, as the only daughter with her brothers being the favorites. She cherished her friendships, which she enjoyed until she realized she was "different." Gradually, as things worsened in Iran, the Jews were being victimized in the schools and in the communities. Most Jews didn't consider going to Israel as an option because Iran was their home, the language, the Iranian customs, etc., were what they had grown up with. This is a very different look at the situation. I've read many Iranian books and enjoyed the different twist.

Farideh Goldin's book is a compelling memoir about growing up in a Jewish family in Iran prior to the Islamic revolution. She reveals the inside of a culture that is hard to believe existed in the mid-twentieth century. It should be read in conjunction with Dalia Sofer's novel, The Septembers of Shiraz, which deals with a Jewish family's ordeal in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution.

I recently read this book for a college class. This book follows the author Farideh Goldin through her life as a little living in Iran. You see a world that many people never think about or comprehend. Being a male, made parts of the book awkward to read because she starts off talking about her period and how women dealt with that monthly biological clock. I am also Jewish and there are parts of the book that talk about practices in Jewish culture that I thought had been stopped decades ago. The book doesn't follow chronological order which actually makes it easier to read, just sometimes events seem impossible until you realize that the last chapter she was 13 now she is 6. The book comes off with such authenticity that there are times where you just wish she were making parts of it up for entertainment purposes. This is a book I would recommend for readers who want to see the world through a completely new perspective, are interested in much more orthodox Jewish lifestyles, or just something different. This is a book to read, keep, and read again.