Foreigner (Paperback)

by Nahid Rachlin (Author) "As I boarded the plane at Logan Airport in Boston I paused on the top step and waved to Tony..." (more)
Key Phrases: passport bureau, Mahmood Majid, United States, Charles River

Editorial Reviews

Review
Conveys the texture of extended family, the stress of modernization, the strain of Moslem rigidity as well as the harmony of nature, of dust and carpets, fruits, sweets, tea, fine rice and gossip. Always gossip. -- Eden Lipson, "Special Edition," WNET/Thirteen

Nahid Rachlin has an intimate insider's knowledge of present-day everyday Iran --of people and places, houses, streets, and families --and she writes of them with a clarity of perception and style that makes them instantly recognizable and even homely and familiar to the reader. -- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Rachlin's prose carefully understates and suggests her heroine's awakening to a pervasive atmosphere of menace and sensuality; residue of a culture she thinks she has abandoned, but which continues to claim her. -- Bruce Allen, Chicago Tribune

Product Description
Feri, an Iranian woman in her thirties, left Iran to study and work in the United States, where she married an American and settled down. Now, after fourteen years, she has returned to Iran to visit her family. Unexpectedly, she finds herself strangely pulled by the old culture, where she will confront as never before the question of where she belongs and how she wants to live.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393319083
• ISBN-13: 978-0393319088
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #303,620 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars culture shock;exile;uncertainty:formula for a great read, June 20, 1999

By	lisatheratgirl "lisatheratgirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foreigner (Paperback)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You never quite leave home, January 27, 2002

By	Ladyce West "Ladyce West" (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews

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.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prayer calls from the Mosque echo as you turn these pages, December 14, 2003

By	"hrd2expln" (Alaska, USA) - See all my reviews

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.