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

~ (Author) "When I told my mother of my first period, she folded her fingers into a fist and hit herself on the chest, "Vay behalet!..." (more)
Key Phrases: few rials, black chadors, United States, Pahlavi University, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This powerful book is strongest in its depictions of Goldin's large extended family, some of whom struggled against tradition while others fought to maintain it."--Hadassah

"The strength of Wedding Song, however, is not only in the autobiographical plot, but in the skillful way Goldin weaves the story and its topics together: blood lines, the older generation, the battle for education, the Jewish ghetto, and the final crunch of marriage are all explored in the context of place and time . . . It is the vividly described ritual and spiritual events that add the most to this memoir . . . Goldin's prose is clear, intense - practically tangible."--Jerusalem Post

"Big questions about the role of religion in society and the nature of family loom behind the dark moments of Goldin's memoir, and equally satisfying are the windows into Iranian Jewish culture."--Antioch Review

The tale is told with skill, flavor, and drama."--The Virginian-Pilot --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"I have been haunted by Farideh Goldin's Wedding Song since the day I read it. It is an honest book, and a brave one. Goldin weaves stories of her childhood into the larger backdrop of her Jewish-Iranian culture. As she moves between her memories and the stories of her family, it becomes apparent that her story cannot be separated from her mother's story, from her grandmother's story. And at the same time, her own survival depends on pulling the stories apart. In its structure and content, Wedding Song brilliantly captures this conundrum --this need to separate the personal from the political, the individual from the collective, all the time knowing that something precious disappears in the separation. Goldin's writing is sometimes spicy and sometimes sad, but always compelling. It's like an ornate braid, so many individual, colorful strands coming together to form a breathtaking whole. Her memoir is full of anger and compassion and insight. A stunning and powerful debut." (Sheri Reynolds, author of The Rapture of Canaan, an Oprah Book Club pick ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Brandeis; 2nd edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584653442
• ISBN-13: 978-1584653448
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,283,927 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wedding Song, July 20, 2005

By	Yohanna (Milford,MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Song: Memoirs of an Iranian Jewish Woman (Brandeis Series on Jewish Women) (Paperback)

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.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BREATH-TAKING!, April 4, 2004

By	Loolwa Khazzoom (israel) - See all my reviews

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

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, haunting, truly affecting, September 15, 2003

By A Customer

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.