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Everything Sad is Untrue:
At the front of a middle-school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much.
But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy...and further back to the fields near the river Aras, where rain-soaked flowers bled red like the yolk of the sunset had burst over everything, and further back still to the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan.
Like Scheherazade in a hostile classroom, Daniel weaves a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth. And it is (a true story).
But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy...and further back to the fields near the river Aras, where rain-soaked flowers bled red like the yolk of the sunset had burst over everything, and further back still to the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan.
Like Scheherazade in a hostile classroom, Daniel weaves a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth. And it is (a true story).
Audible Audio
First published August 25, 2020
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About the author
Daniel Nayeri
30 books904 followersDaniel Nayeri is a writer and editor in New York City. He wrote and produced The Cult of Sincerity, the first feature film to be world-premiered by YouTube. He has had all kinds of jobs around books, including book repairman, literary agent, used bookstore clerk, children's librarian, Official Story-Time Reader Leader, editor, copy-editor, and even carpenter (making bookshelves). He's also a professional pastry chef. He loves Street Fighter 2, hates the word "foodie," and is an award-winning stuntman.
Daniel and his sister/co-writer Dina were both born in Iran and spent many young adult years in Europe. There they learned several languages between them and tried Frosted Flakes for the first time.
Daniel and his sister/co-writer Dina were both born in Iran and spent many young adult years in Europe. There they learned several languages between them and tried Frosted Flakes for the first time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,623 reviews
September 11, 2020
I sometimes listen to audiobooks when I am exercising or running . So if you recently saw me with my hands covering my face as I was working out, it wasn't to wipe the sweat from my eyes. It's because I was weeping while listening to this book and needed to get it together before going back to my run.
This is the best book I've read in a long time. It may be because I have never read a book that so accurately described my own life. It may also be because Nayeri is a phenomenal writer or because there is so much raw emotion in this book. It's supposed. to be YA and that is a genre I generally avoid because I find it cheesy--this was the opposite. I don't usually cry while running.
This is the best book I've read in a long time. It may be because I have never read a book that so accurately described my own life. It may also be because Nayeri is a phenomenal writer or because there is so much raw emotion in this book. It's supposed. to be YA and that is a genre I generally avoid because I find it cheesy--this was the opposite. I don't usually cry while running.
September 15, 2020
"Mrs. Miller says I have 'lost the plot,' and am now just making lists of things that happened to fill space. But I replied that she is beholden to a Western mode of storytelling that I do not accept and that the 1,001 Nights are basically Scheherazade stalling for time, so I don't see the difference.
"She laughed when I said this.
"It was one of those genuine laughs you get and for a second you see the person they are when they're not a teacher. Like the same laugh she might have at a movie or something. She said, 'That was a wonderful use of beholden.'
"And I said, 'Thank you.'"
This exchange between 12-year-old-Iranian-refugee-turned-American-citizen (in Oklahoma, yet!) Khosrou and his teacher on p. 300 of a 351 page book about says it all. There are definite YA tropes here, most noticeably the hero getting teased / bullied / taunted / beat up / questioned as an outsider. That and lots of talk about poop (always a winner in YA books).
What sets it apart is the way it echoes the 1,001 Nights and really lacks much of a plot. Instead, we get lots of characterization through storytelling -- about Khosrou's great, great grandparents, great grandparents, grandparents, Mom and Dad, step-dad, sister, friends, enemies (as you'd expect), but also about heroes from Persian literature.
There's even a six-page stretch where the Shiite-Sunni split is explained in kid-friendly terms, something I'd share with my students if I still taught world religions, including the Islam unit.
Rating it is tough, though. It's good, it's entertaining, it has elements that might intrigue young readers, but the loosely interconnected stories and anecdotes (and lack of plot) might lose more than one young reader, making it one of those YA's that might appeal more to adult readers of YA than to the young adults themselves. At least ones that are reluctant readers.
That said, if you have students who are immigrants and / or ESL students well enough along to read full-blown YA books, by all means hand them a copy. They'll surely empathize with Khosrou's long and difficult journey -- not to mention his pride in his heritage.
"She laughed when I said this.
"It was one of those genuine laughs you get and for a second you see the person they are when they're not a teacher. Like the same laugh she might have at a movie or something. She said, 'That was a wonderful use of beholden.'
"And I said, 'Thank you.'"
This exchange between 12-year-old-Iranian-refugee-turned-American-citizen (in Oklahoma, yet!) Khosrou and his teacher on p. 300 of a 351 page book about says it all. There are definite YA tropes here, most noticeably the hero getting teased / bullied / taunted / beat up / questioned as an outsider. That and lots of talk about poop (always a winner in YA books).
What sets it apart is the way it echoes the 1,001 Nights and really lacks much of a plot. Instead, we get lots of characterization through storytelling -- about Khosrou's great, great grandparents, great grandparents, grandparents, Mom and Dad, step-dad, sister, friends, enemies (as you'd expect), but also about heroes from Persian literature.
There's even a six-page stretch where the Shiite-Sunni split is explained in kid-friendly terms, something I'd share with my students if I still taught world religions, including the Islam unit.
Rating it is tough, though. It's good, it's entertaining, it has elements that might intrigue young readers, but the loosely interconnected stories and anecdotes (and lack of plot) might lose more than one young reader, making it one of those YA's that might appeal more to adult readers of YA than to the young adults themselves. At least ones that are reluctant readers.
That said, if you have students who are immigrants and / or ESL students well enough along to read full-blown YA books, by all means hand them a copy. They'll surely empathize with Khosrou's long and difficult journey -- not to mention his pride in his heritage.
September 21, 2020
I was fortunate enough to pick up four Levine Querido arcs at ALA in January. FOUR. Truth: I was only supposed to take one, but I kept chatting with the rep there, and we'd talk about this book and that one, and he could tell I was so sincerely excited that he'd say, "Okay, here, take this one too ..." and so I did. This is the second one I've read, and while it's an unrealistic commitment for a school librarian who's got to stay on top of every genre and every reading level to say that I'm going to read EVERYTHING Levine Querido publishes, I'm going to say that I will be paying very close attention to all of their releases and will read many of them.
I run a book club at my school. At the beginning of every year, I'll ask the kids what books they like to read, and I usually get answers like, "Mysteries," "books that keep me turning pages," or "anything with lots of action." But one year, a girl said--a 12-year-old--"I like books that make me think about things in a new way." I wanted to hug her, because, YES. I like a lot of books, but the ones I LOVE, the ones that are the reason reading is both my vocation and my avocation, are the ones that *make me think about things in a new way*. And after reading two Levine Querido books (the other one was Apple: Skin to the Core, by the phenomenal Eric Gansworth), and knowing what they have on the horizon, I feel like ... those are the kind of books they are publishing.
On to Everything Sad is Untrue. This was not a fast, easy read for me, so I suspect it will not be fast and easy for many middle schoolers, the audience for whom this book is intended, and to whom, as a school librarian, I need to "sell" it. But, most things that offer a rich reward take a bit of effort. And the best rewards don't just come at the end; you reap them throughout the whole process of earning them. If you're preparing for a marathon, the joy isn't just, or even mostly, about crossing the finish line, it's about the training--looking back on it, you realize that even when you were sweating, and felt like maybe you'd rather just be sitting on the couch eating a cookie, you were really having the time of your life. (Full disclosure: I've never even run a 5K, so I'm guessing here.) I have to say I'm not sure how this metaphor will work to sell this book to my middle schoolers. What might work, however, is poop. There's a LOT of poop in this book, and if there's one thing middle schoolers love, it's a good poop story. Be patient, I'll tell them, and you'll be rewarded with SO MUCH POOP. (And also a fair amount of blood, which is also popular among the pre- and young teen crowd.)
So this is the story of Daniel, an Oklahoma immigrant from Iran by way of a palace in Abu Dhabi and an Italian refugee camp, but it is also the story of Scheherazade, which also means it is a story about stories. (Daniel, by the way, is the same Daniel who wrote the book, so this story is as true as a book gleaned from the memories of a child can be, which could begat a really interesting conversation or dissertation about memoir, trauma, truth, and fact.) Daniel, as narrator, puts himself in the role of Scheherazade, teller of tales, and puts the reader in the role of the King. "Every story," writes Nayari, "is the sound of a storyteller begging to stay alive." Daniel tells his stories to his classmates, and his stories of ancient Persia and his own early life in Iran are equally fantastical and unbelievable to them--tales of carpets made of emeralds and rubies, and stories of elegantly appointed bathrooms featuring bowls you squat over instead of toilets.
The cover of the book is gorgeous, featuring an Oklahoma cylone with the swirling colors of a gorgeous Persian rug. Objects from the novel, such as Daniel's grandfather's prize bull and an Aladdin-like palace, spin around inside it. The cyclone is not only emblamatic of Oklahoma and Persia but of Nayeri's narrative style, which circles around, considering and then reconsidering the same stories and themes. Towards the end of the novel, Daniel's teacher, Mrs. Miller--whom he loves--tells him he has "lost the plot," and he replies she is "beholden to a Western mode of storytelling that I do not accept." She laughs, and Western readers, much like Mrs. Miller, will, at this point, be all in for the remainder of what to them feels like a very strange ride indeed.
I loved this book for so many reasons. I loved learning about Persian culture. I loved reading a book in this (for me) unusual, swirling, cyclone-like style. I loved the gorgeous writing. I loved Daniel, his humor, his humility, his vulnerability, his compassion, his recognition and acceptance of the flaws in himself and in others. I love that I feel like I have a new friend. I love, as my student once said, that this book has given me the gift of thinking about things in a new way.
I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from the book (and I have many), in which the narrator directly addresses the reader and discusses the interaction between the reader and an author:
"What you're doing now is listening to me, in the parlor of your mind, but also speaking to yourself, thinking about the parts of me you like or the parts of me that aren't funny enough. You evaluate, like Mrs. Miller says. You think and wrestle with every word."
This is a book in which every word is well worth thinking and wrestling with.
I run a book club at my school. At the beginning of every year, I'll ask the kids what books they like to read, and I usually get answers like, "Mysteries," "books that keep me turning pages," or "anything with lots of action." But one year, a girl said--a 12-year-old--"I like books that make me think about things in a new way." I wanted to hug her, because, YES. I like a lot of books, but the ones I LOVE, the ones that are the reason reading is both my vocation and my avocation, are the ones that *make me think about things in a new way*. And after reading two Levine Querido books (the other one was Apple: Skin to the Core, by the phenomenal Eric Gansworth), and knowing what they have on the horizon, I feel like ... those are the kind of books they are publishing.
On to Everything Sad is Untrue. This was not a fast, easy read for me, so I suspect it will not be fast and easy for many middle schoolers, the audience for whom this book is intended, and to whom, as a school librarian, I need to "sell" it. But, most things that offer a rich reward take a bit of effort. And the best rewards don't just come at the end; you reap them throughout the whole process of earning them. If you're preparing for a marathon, the joy isn't just, or even mostly, about crossing the finish line, it's about the training--looking back on it, you realize that even when you were sweating, and felt like maybe you'd rather just be sitting on the couch eating a cookie, you were really having the time of your life. (Full disclosure: I've never even run a 5K, so I'm guessing here.) I have to say I'm not sure how this metaphor will work to sell this book to my middle schoolers. What might work, however, is poop. There's a LOT of poop in this book, and if there's one thing middle schoolers love, it's a good poop story. Be patient, I'll tell them, and you'll be rewarded with SO MUCH POOP. (And also a fair amount of blood, which is also popular among the pre- and young teen crowd.)
So this is the story of Daniel, an Oklahoma immigrant from Iran by way of a palace in Abu Dhabi and an Italian refugee camp, but it is also the story of Scheherazade, which also means it is a story about stories. (Daniel, by the way, is the same Daniel who wrote the book, so this story is as true as a book gleaned from the memories of a child can be, which could begat a really interesting conversation or dissertation about memoir, trauma, truth, and fact.) Daniel, as narrator, puts himself in the role of Scheherazade, teller of tales, and puts the reader in the role of the King. "Every story," writes Nayari, "is the sound of a storyteller begging to stay alive." Daniel tells his stories to his classmates, and his stories of ancient Persia and his own early life in Iran are equally fantastical and unbelievable to them--tales of carpets made of emeralds and rubies, and stories of elegantly appointed bathrooms featuring bowls you squat over instead of toilets.
The cover of the book is gorgeous, featuring an Oklahoma cylone with the swirling colors of a gorgeous Persian rug. Objects from the novel, such as Daniel's grandfather's prize bull and an Aladdin-like palace, spin around inside it. The cyclone is not only emblamatic of Oklahoma and Persia but of Nayeri's narrative style, which circles around, considering and then reconsidering the same stories and themes. Towards the end of the novel, Daniel's teacher, Mrs. Miller--whom he loves--tells him he has "lost the plot," and he replies she is "beholden to a Western mode of storytelling that I do not accept." She laughs, and Western readers, much like Mrs. Miller, will, at this point, be all in for the remainder of what to them feels like a very strange ride indeed.
I loved this book for so many reasons. I loved learning about Persian culture. I loved reading a book in this (for me) unusual, swirling, cyclone-like style. I loved the gorgeous writing. I loved Daniel, his humor, his humility, his vulnerability, his compassion, his recognition and acceptance of the flaws in himself and in others. I love that I feel like I have a new friend. I love, as my student once said, that this book has given me the gift of thinking about things in a new way.
I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from the book (and I have many), in which the narrator directly addresses the reader and discusses the interaction between the reader and an author:
"What you're doing now is listening to me, in the parlor of your mind, but also speaking to yourself, thinking about the parts of me you like or the parts of me that aren't funny enough. You evaluate, like Mrs. Miller says. You think and wrestle with every word."
This is a book in which every word is well worth thinking and wrestling with.
June 27, 2023
Daniel Nayeri's novel Everything Sad is Untrue has had numerous excellent reviews that are most informative. I recommend you check them out. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author. I highly recommend it, but I'll warn you that there are a great many loosely connected stories at the beginning that are so numerous you may find them confusing. These stories set the groundwork for the overall tale and explain relevant history. Have no fear. You need not remember every minor detail. The main story will eventually move forward, and things will become more coherent.
At one point towards the end, when our hero is on the roof during a severe rain storm, the narrator makes a statement that seems to cross the boundary between truthful reporting and wishful thinking. Initially, this upset me , and I reminded myself that the narrator was also a character in the story, and he was only obligated to report what he believed to be true.
The rating is rounded up from 4.5.
Daniel Nayeri's book talks a lot about Persia and Oklahoma. I don't know Persia (i.e., Iran), except for what I've heard in a few documentaries that almost seem to mention Persia by accident, but I do know two versions of Oklahoma. One is a musical that was put on by Central High School in Kalamazoo when my oldest sister was a sophomore in high school. She played second chair clarinet in her high school band. She was always second chair, except twice. Once was when the first chair was sick for two weeks, and she got to play first chair in the other girl's absence. The second time was when a new sophomore beat my sister out, and she got demoted to the third chair. (I remember this because of all the tears shed.)
The musical version of Oklahoma was very informative. It taught me that everything was up to date in Kansas City. That was good to know because my father grew up on a farm near Bucyrus, which is near Kansas City. (Well, it's close to Kansas City now. When my father lived near Bucyrus, Bucyrus was a long way away from Kansas City. Now it's just down the highway. I don't know if Kansas City had a skyscraper seven stories tall back then.)
The second Oklahoma I know is in southwest Oklahoma, where my grandparents had their farm. This Oklahoma is near Hobart and Roosevelt. It isn't like the Oklahoma in the musical. It wasn't like the Oklahoma in Daniel Nayeri's Oklahoma either. The Oklahoma I knew is a long way away from the Edmond, Oklahoma that Daniel Nayeri knew. Nayeri's Oklahoma was probably there back then, you just couldn't see it from my grandparents' farm.
I wasn't old enough to go with them the first time my father took my family to visit his relatives in Kansas and Oklahoma. That trip made quite an impression on my brother, however, and I've heard stories. Those stories focus on Kansas, but now we're talking about Oklahoma.
I was old enough to remember when the Okie Nulls came to visit us Michigander Nulls. I was probably three plus some months. (In Nayeri's stories, Persia is the old country, and Oklahoma is the new country. In my stories, Oklahoma and Kansas are the old country, and Michigan is the new country. Otherwise, there's not really any similarity between Nayeri's tales and mine.)
In this part of my story, I was upstairs and asleep. My brother and I shared a room. In the Rose Street house, we had a small room and bunk beds. At the Crane Avenue house, we had a large room and separate beds. (My brother said I wasn't allowed to enter his half of the room to get to the closet. I retorted that he wasn't allowed to enter my half of the room to get to his half of the room.) My brother and I didn't stop bugging each other until after we had separate bedrooms. We didn't start to like each other until after we were both married, and our wives told us to start acting like grownups.
I've digressed, I guess. Let me get back to my story.
In Michigan, it can get hot and muggy at night, and people didn't have air conditioning in their houses back in the 1950s. On the first night of their visit, the Oklahoma Nulls slept downstairs in our living room. They attempted to sleep on the floor on top of blankets rolled up like a modern-day sleeping bag. (My Granddad Stocker was a Boy Scout executive, and he taught my mother lots of cool how-to stuff.)
The Okie Nulls were used to hot but not muggy, and in Michigan muggy can be severe. The Okie Nulls were miserable. They opened all the windows, but they were still miserable. They then rolled up the homemade sleeping bags Mom had made them, and they went out into the backyard. They laid out their blankets and settled down. They were delighted by the cool, gentle breeze. They didn't hear the mosquitoes calling out in the night. The mosquitoes called out, "Fresh meat! Fresh meat!" A few minutes later, the Okie Nulls were running back into our house to escape a cloud of mosquitoes. 🦟
(Personally, I've found summer nights in Oklahoma to be quite pleasant. However, in Kansas, I've found summer nights to be downright cold. However, since I seem to have digressed again, those stories will have to wait for another time and place.)
I don't think the Okie Nulls slept much their first night in Michigan. The next day, we all set out on a road trip, so the Okie Nulls could see Michigan and sleep in motels at night. I assume they have mosquitoes in Oklahoma, but apparently, they're not as big and hungry as Michigan mosquitoes.
The trip around Michigan was eventful, but we managed to keep ahead of the mosquitoes.
Now I've lived in Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, and California, and I can attest that in those four states, there's nothing else as vicious as a Michigan mosquito. Mountain lions and wolves don't even come close. Mother grizzly bears can be a close second if baby cubs are nearby. In California, bobcats and coyotes can act almost tame. As far as I know, the only animals that are as mean spirited as mosquitoes are mules and Republicans.
At one point towards the end, when our hero is on the roof during a severe rain storm, the narrator makes a statement that seems to cross the boundary between truthful reporting and wishful thinking. Initially, this upset me , and I reminded myself that the narrator was also a character in the story, and he was only obligated to report what he believed to be true.
The rating is rounded up from 4.5.
Daniel Nayeri's book talks a lot about Persia and Oklahoma. I don't know Persia (i.e., Iran), except for what I've heard in a few documentaries that almost seem to mention Persia by accident, but I do know two versions of Oklahoma. One is a musical that was put on by Central High School in Kalamazoo when my oldest sister was a sophomore in high school. She played second chair clarinet in her high school band. She was always second chair, except twice. Once was when the first chair was sick for two weeks, and she got to play first chair in the other girl's absence. The second time was when a new sophomore beat my sister out, and she got demoted to the third chair. (I remember this because of all the tears shed.)
The musical version of Oklahoma was very informative. It taught me that everything was up to date in Kansas City. That was good to know because my father grew up on a farm near Bucyrus, which is near Kansas City. (Well, it's close to Kansas City now. When my father lived near Bucyrus, Bucyrus was a long way away from Kansas City. Now it's just down the highway. I don't know if Kansas City had a skyscraper seven stories tall back then.)
The second Oklahoma I know is in southwest Oklahoma, where my grandparents had their farm. This Oklahoma is near Hobart and Roosevelt. It isn't like the Oklahoma in the musical. It wasn't like the Oklahoma in Daniel Nayeri's Oklahoma either. The Oklahoma I knew is a long way away from the Edmond, Oklahoma that Daniel Nayeri knew. Nayeri's Oklahoma was probably there back then, you just couldn't see it from my grandparents' farm.
I wasn't old enough to go with them the first time my father took my family to visit his relatives in Kansas and Oklahoma. That trip made quite an impression on my brother, however, and I've heard stories. Those stories focus on Kansas, but now we're talking about Oklahoma.
I was old enough to remember when the Okie Nulls came to visit us Michigander Nulls. I was probably three plus some months. (In Nayeri's stories, Persia is the old country, and Oklahoma is the new country. In my stories, Oklahoma and Kansas are the old country, and Michigan is the new country. Otherwise, there's not really any similarity between Nayeri's tales and mine.)
In this part of my story, I was upstairs and asleep. My brother and I shared a room. In the Rose Street house, we had a small room and bunk beds. At the Crane Avenue house, we had a large room and separate beds. (My brother said I wasn't allowed to enter his half of the room to get to the closet. I retorted that he wasn't allowed to enter my half of the room to get to his half of the room.) My brother and I didn't stop bugging each other until after we had separate bedrooms. We didn't start to like each other until after we were both married, and our wives told us to start acting like grownups.
I've digressed, I guess. Let me get back to my story.
In Michigan, it can get hot and muggy at night, and people didn't have air conditioning in their houses back in the 1950s. On the first night of their visit, the Oklahoma Nulls slept downstairs in our living room. They attempted to sleep on the floor on top of blankets rolled up like a modern-day sleeping bag. (My Granddad Stocker was a Boy Scout executive, and he taught my mother lots of cool how-to stuff.)
The Okie Nulls were used to hot but not muggy, and in Michigan muggy can be severe. The Okie Nulls were miserable. They opened all the windows, but they were still miserable. They then rolled up the homemade sleeping bags Mom had made them, and they went out into the backyard. They laid out their blankets and settled down. They were delighted by the cool, gentle breeze. They didn't hear the mosquitoes calling out in the night. The mosquitoes called out, "Fresh meat! Fresh meat!" A few minutes later, the Okie Nulls were running back into our house to escape a cloud of mosquitoes. 🦟
(Personally, I've found summer nights in Oklahoma to be quite pleasant. However, in Kansas, I've found summer nights to be downright cold. However, since I seem to have digressed again, those stories will have to wait for another time and place.)
I don't think the Okie Nulls slept much their first night in Michigan. The next day, we all set out on a road trip, so the Okie Nulls could see Michigan and sleep in motels at night. I assume they have mosquitoes in Oklahoma, but apparently, they're not as big and hungry as Michigan mosquitoes.
The trip around Michigan was eventful, but we managed to keep ahead of the mosquitoes.
Now I've lived in Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, and California, and I can attest that in those four states, there's nothing else as vicious as a Michigan mosquito. Mountain lions and wolves don't even come close. Mother grizzly bears can be a close second if baby cubs are nearby. In California, bobcats and coyotes can act almost tame. As far as I know, the only animals that are as mean spirited as mosquitoes are mules and Republicans.
March 16, 2021
This is—without a doubt—one of the best books I have ever read.
September 28, 2022
SECOND READ:
This time I read the print version and I have to say: The audio version is so fantastic. It really is fitting to hear Khosrou/Daniel tell his story, especially since it is framed as an oral storytelling. The book, however, allowed me to see the poetry in the text and to linger over the profound moments. The first 1/3 could be disorienting, as he gathers threads of his own family history, switching frequently between characters in his own family, but the momentum builds. Please keep reading. It's really, really worth it.
FIRST READ:
This is an extraordinary story. I want everyone to read it immediately. Better yet, get the audiobook and let Daniel Nayeri read it aloud to you himself. Picture him standing in front of a class of middle schoolers trying to make them listen, see, understand that he is more than the weird immigrant kid who eats food that smells weird; He’s the product of generations of wealth and despair and necessity. He is holding out his most precious gift, his memories and his understanding of the world. And his story is sad and funny and everything a story should be. I felt like all of my emotions were caught in my throat the whole time, like I didn’t know which one I’d need next. At any given turn of phrase I was likely to choke up, or laugh, or stop in my tracks. The story is that good. It’s that inviting and human and alarming and universal.
I savored every word. I went back and relistened over and over. Generally I listen to audiobooks at a faster speed, eager to hear one story and get on to the next one. When I started listening to this one, I immediately thought “Why am I in such an all-fired hurry all the time? Racing from one book to the next?” and I slowed it down, back to normal speed. And I listened more and I thought again “This is why I’m in such a hurry. I’ve been reading books all my life hoping to find THIS book.” It's a remarkably well told story and I loved it.
This time I read the print version and I have to say: The audio version is so fantastic. It really is fitting to hear Khosrou/Daniel tell his story, especially since it is framed as an oral storytelling. The book, however, allowed me to see the poetry in the text and to linger over the profound moments. The first 1/3 could be disorienting, as he gathers threads of his own family history, switching frequently between characters in his own family, but the momentum builds. Please keep reading. It's really, really worth it.
FIRST READ:
This is an extraordinary story. I want everyone to read it immediately. Better yet, get the audiobook and let Daniel Nayeri read it aloud to you himself. Picture him standing in front of a class of middle schoolers trying to make them listen, see, understand that he is more than the weird immigrant kid who eats food that smells weird; He’s the product of generations of wealth and despair and necessity. He is holding out his most precious gift, his memories and his understanding of the world. And his story is sad and funny and everything a story should be. I felt like all of my emotions were caught in my throat the whole time, like I didn’t know which one I’d need next. At any given turn of phrase I was likely to choke up, or laugh, or stop in my tracks. The story is that good. It’s that inviting and human and alarming and universal.
I savored every word. I went back and relistened over and over. Generally I listen to audiobooks at a faster speed, eager to hear one story and get on to the next one. When I started listening to this one, I immediately thought “Why am I in such an all-fired hurry all the time? Racing from one book to the next?” and I slowed it down, back to normal speed. And I listened more and I thought again “This is why I’m in such a hurry. I’ve been reading books all my life hoping to find THIS book.” It's a remarkably well told story and I loved it.
December 30, 2020
I could not get through this. It felt like I was reading someone's rambling diary, not a novel.
My favorite part of the book was when I skipped forward to a random page to see where all this meandering was leading and my eyes fell on these lines:
"Are you still there, reader?
No?
Maybe you've gone and the only eyes are the ones who flipped to this page accidentally. Or you've skipped ahead from someplace in the beginning and missed all the parts that explain me to you--from there to here.
Maybe I'm the patchwork text.
Maybe I deserve to be hit all the time.
Maybe I'm a liar.
Maybe I don't deserve a welcome.
And maybe I never had anything good."
I feel like this passage gives you a pretty good idea of the kind of book this is.
It reminded me of Hokey Pokey because on some level I can appreciate that it's weird and experimental and might be fascinating to some readers. But it is most definitely not for me.
My favorite part of the book was when I skipped forward to a random page to see where all this meandering was leading and my eyes fell on these lines:
"Are you still there, reader?
No?
Maybe you've gone and the only eyes are the ones who flipped to this page accidentally. Or you've skipped ahead from someplace in the beginning and missed all the parts that explain me to you--from there to here.
Maybe I'm the patchwork text.
Maybe I deserve to be hit all the time.
Maybe I'm a liar.
Maybe I don't deserve a welcome.
And maybe I never had anything good."
I feel like this passage gives you a pretty good idea of the kind of book this is.
It reminded me of Hokey Pokey because on some level I can appreciate that it's weird and experimental and might be fascinating to some readers. But it is most definitely not for me.
May 9, 2022
No review I write will adequately express how beautiful and delightful this book is. Two years ago a friend told me to read it, and then I, being stubborn as hell, withheld from myself one of the strangest and most stunning reads of recent years. I’m so glad I finally picked this up, and I hope you won’t wait as long as I did.
Somehow, between poop stories and laughter and the threads of mythical stories and his own searing honesty and tears, Nayeri has given us a book that has the power to open our eyes to the wonder it is to be human and the cost at which love and joy come.
And…as an author, I can’t not say this: it’s *so* beautifully written and expertly woven together. Even if you read it for a glance at Nayeri’s craft alone…whew. But you can’t read this and not be affected.
Somehow, between poop stories and laughter and the threads of mythical stories and his own searing honesty and tears, Nayeri has given us a book that has the power to open our eyes to the wonder it is to be human and the cost at which love and joy come.
And…as an author, I can’t not say this: it’s *so* beautifully written and expertly woven together. Even if you read it for a glance at Nayeri’s craft alone…whew. But you can’t read this and not be affected.
April 10, 2021
This was my life, as I experienced it, and it is both fiction an dnonfiction at the same time. Your memories are too, if you'll admit it. But you're not a liar. You're just Persian in your own way, with a flaw.--Daniel Nayeri (Author's Note)
This book is a gift. A gem. It may be shelved in your Juvenile or Young Adult section of the library, but it is for everyone. Khosrou Nayeri is a descendant of Iranian royalty. He is a boy named Daniel who now lives in Oklahoma. His family has gone from abundance and riches to wearing thrift store clothes and believing Twinkies are too pricey. This book is his story and in true Persian fashion it is like Scheherazade and her 1001 nights. Once you adjust to that type of storytelling you will not want to put it down. The experiences that Khosrou shares are at times heartbreaking and at other times humorous. A beautiful tapestry, or perhaps I should say Persian rug. I want to give Janie B. Cheaney and World Magazine the credit for putting this book near the top of my TBR List. Thank you, Ms. Cheaney! Here is a link to that article:
https://world.wng.org/2021/02/culture...
Enjoy!
This book is a gift. A gem. It may be shelved in your Juvenile or Young Adult section of the library, but it is for everyone. Khosrou Nayeri is a descendant of Iranian royalty. He is a boy named Daniel who now lives in Oklahoma. His family has gone from abundance and riches to wearing thrift store clothes and believing Twinkies are too pricey. This book is his story and in true Persian fashion it is like Scheherazade and her 1001 nights. Once you adjust to that type of storytelling you will not want to put it down. The experiences that Khosrou shares are at times heartbreaking and at other times humorous. A beautiful tapestry, or perhaps I should say Persian rug. I want to give Janie B. Cheaney and World Magazine the credit for putting this book near the top of my TBR List. Thank you, Ms. Cheaney! Here is a link to that article:
https://world.wng.org/2021/02/culture...
Enjoy!
dnf
May 2, 2021I have now finished attempting to read last year's Printz winner and honorees, and I have to say, not one of them strongly appealed to me, even though almost all of them seem to have been written for adults, with no attempt to interest teen audience. The most readable of this bunch, and the only one that has a chance of capturing teen audience, IMO, is Dragon Hoops. The rest were books that portrayed various marginalized experiences in diverse historical and cultural contexts, but ultimately were not written in ways that were engaging to me, and, I believe, majority of the readers, adult or teen.
As far as Everything Sad Is Untrue, this is an odd book in a way that it is written with a narrative complexity of an adult book, but the subject matter and tone of a middle grade book. Which made vast portions of it uninteresting to me, but then I can't imagine one teen or middle schooler actually getting into this type of story.
Printz Medal 2021
As far as Everything Sad Is Untrue, this is an odd book in a way that it is written with a narrative complexity of an adult book, but the subject matter and tone of a middle grade book. Which made vast portions of it uninteresting to me, but then I can't imagine one teen or middle schooler actually getting into this type of story.
Printz Medal 2021
June 11, 2021
Everything Sad is Untrue is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. A phenomenal middle grade/young adult novel that would easily appeal to adults as well. The book has an unusual, but lyrical, structure of counting memories as Daniel Nayeri shares stories in the manner of Scheherazade (1,001 Nights) in order that you, the reader, may understand and believe him when he talks about life.
Full of stunningly spot on metaphors and parables, Daniel blends east and west in an #ownvoices autobiographical novel. Interviews with the author reveal that the book is mostly true and researched where possible, but "a patchwork memory is the shame of a refugee." Daniel explains and much of his family's history is forgotten, so he shares the stories as he remembers hearing them when he was young.
I loved the flow of this book, it was like reading one long epic poem. It moved from memory to memory and Daniel Nayeri is talented at evoking emotion in his readers. Despite moving around as if inside someone's head, the transitions were seamless. And just when you think your heart is going to break, he introduces a moment of levity with a poop story. Yes, there's more than one.
Well deserving of all its recent awards, this book was magnificent.
-Jess, Youth Services
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
Full of stunningly spot on metaphors and parables, Daniel blends east and west in an #ownvoices autobiographical novel. Interviews with the author reveal that the book is mostly true and researched where possible, but "a patchwork memory is the shame of a refugee." Daniel explains and much of his family's history is forgotten, so he shares the stories as he remembers hearing them when he was young.
I loved the flow of this book, it was like reading one long epic poem. It moved from memory to memory and Daniel Nayeri is talented at evoking emotion in his readers. Despite moving around as if inside someone's head, the transitions were seamless. And just when you think your heart is going to break, he introduces a moment of levity with a poop story. Yes, there's more than one.
Well deserving of all its recent awards, this book was magnificent.
-Jess, Youth Services
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
July 25, 2020
sometimes I think about the Booklist review for this book, "Nayeri challenges outright what young readers can handle, in form and content, but who can deny him when it’s his own experience on display? He demands much of readers, but in return he gives them everything." and then I shed a tear !
June 11, 2022
The unconventional style (discursive narrative, no chapter breaks, etc.) requires some stick-with-itness, but this memoir repays the reader’s patience. It’s a profoundly sobering, but ultimately edifying, portrait of a former refugee’s “patchwork life.” Can’t wait to meet his mom in heaven—a woman of whom this world is not worthy (Hebrews 11:38).
November 12, 2020
Daniel Nayeri (Khosrou) is a middle school student in Oklahoma, who was born in Iran, before fleeing with his mother. I found this book very frustrating to read as Daniel/Khosrou jumps back and forth between (1) his new life in Oklahoma, where he is poor, where his mother is overworked and underemployed, and his stepfather, who is a martial arts guy, beats on his mother; (2) his early life in Iran where his family was wealthy, and he got along with his sister; and (3) his transition between the two as a refugee. Nayeri also tries to integrate some Persian mythology, and like The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree fails in making the stories work together.
August 3, 2020
This is the book I will be gifting to everyone I know in the coming months. This is not a typical memoir. The way Nayeri weaves his own story among his family's and Persian mythology is beautiful and poignant, and hearing it all come from his younger self is such a fascinating choice. Nayeri's musings on what makes a myth and, perhaps even more importantly, what makes a storyteller, are not to be skimmed over. This is a book to revisit and cherish.
October 10, 2024
This book wasn't even trying to be poetry; it just was.
“Does writing poetry make you brave? It is a good question to ask. I think making anything is a brave thing to do. Not like fighting brave, obviously. But a kind that looks at a horrible situation and doesn’t crumble.”
There are some books you read, and yeah, they're fun while they last, but you won't remember the story in two years. Then there are some books unlike anything you've ever read but better than 99% of books you've read so far. It was this book for me. If I never read anything ever again, I wouldn't feel like I'm missing out on a whole lot.
I always appreciate it when authors save me time and write books about some human experiences that I could never attempt to put into words myself.
“Sometimes you just want somebody to look at a thing with you and say, “Yes. That is a thing you’re looking at. You haven’t lied to yourself.”
This is a YA book only in the context that the narrator is young. I would sooner recommend it to adults because I don't know if I would have understood the meaning of this when I was younger (not sure the non-chronological order of the stories would have made sense either).
“If you listen, I’ll tell you a story. We can know and be known to each other, and then we’re not enemies anymore.”
What an honor to know Nayeri's story. I don't have any other words to explain what this meant to me and how grateful I am that it was written.
“...Truth and Reality that we all share but also mostly ignore in different parts. Which is why we can see the same things but come to different conclusions about how to heal all our broken hearts. Which we all have. Which is such a big part of our lives that we don’t even notice the pain of it. We’re completely numb to it, because it’s constant. It’s so true it’s boring.”
I wanted to write down all my favorite quotes in my notes but realized after writing about a dozen that I really didn't have the time to write down an entire book.
“Does writing poetry make you brave? It is a good question to ask. I think making anything is a brave thing to do. Not like fighting brave, obviously. But a kind that looks at a horrible situation and doesn’t crumble.”
There are some books you read, and yeah, they're fun while they last, but you won't remember the story in two years. Then there are some books unlike anything you've ever read but better than 99% of books you've read so far. It was this book for me. If I never read anything ever again, I wouldn't feel like I'm missing out on a whole lot.
I always appreciate it when authors save me time and write books about some human experiences that I could never attempt to put into words myself.
“Sometimes you just want somebody to look at a thing with you and say, “Yes. That is a thing you’re looking at. You haven’t lied to yourself.”
This is a YA book only in the context that the narrator is young. I would sooner recommend it to adults because I don't know if I would have understood the meaning of this when I was younger (not sure the non-chronological order of the stories would have made sense either).
“If you listen, I’ll tell you a story. We can know and be known to each other, and then we’re not enemies anymore.”
What an honor to know Nayeri's story. I don't have any other words to explain what this meant to me and how grateful I am that it was written.
“...Truth and Reality that we all share but also mostly ignore in different parts. Which is why we can see the same things but come to different conclusions about how to heal all our broken hearts. Which we all have. Which is such a big part of our lives that we don’t even notice the pain of it. We’re completely numb to it, because it’s constant. It’s so true it’s boring.”
I wanted to write down all my favorite quotes in my notes but realized after writing about a dozen that I really didn't have the time to write down an entire book.
Read
July 23, 2021A powerful, compelling autobiographical novel.
May 12, 2025
I just finished reading this aloud to my little sister, my third re-read in as many years. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this patchwork rug of a story.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" is a refugee kid's shambling attempts at recounting his family history. But in a world where even memory can betray you, how can you know what is most deeply true about anything?
This book is unabashedly frank and down-to-earth, while simultaneously reading like poetry. It's not "beholden to the modes of Western storytelling", to quote young Daniel, making it one of the most unique books I've ever read.
I can't recommend this book enough. If I had to pick a favorite book of all time aside from the Bible, this would be it. To be sure, it's harsh and uncomfortable at times (this is one of those "children's books" I'd hesitate to hand to just any kid). But at other times it's hilarious. At others, soul-stirring and profound.
It has moved me to tears more than any other book I've ever encountered.
Look to the joy on the other side of the rivers of blood, my friends, where He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. To the place where everything sad will one day be made untrue...
"Everything Sad is Untrue" is a refugee kid's shambling attempts at recounting his family history. But in a world where even memory can betray you, how can you know what is most deeply true about anything?
This book is unabashedly frank and down-to-earth, while simultaneously reading like poetry. It's not "beholden to the modes of Western storytelling", to quote young Daniel, making it one of the most unique books I've ever read.
I can't recommend this book enough. If I had to pick a favorite book of all time aside from the Bible, this would be it. To be sure, it's harsh and uncomfortable at times (this is one of those "children's books" I'd hesitate to hand to just any kid). But at other times it's hilarious. At others, soul-stirring and profound.
It has moved me to tears more than any other book I've ever encountered.
Look to the joy on the other side of the rivers of blood, my friends, where He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. To the place where everything sad will one day be made untrue...
July 1, 2024
"Memories are always partly untrue."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 37
This book, which debuted in the pandemic year of 2020, represented something different from other mainstream American children's novels of the era. Most such books were secular; if they mentioned God or Christianity, it tended to be in a negative light, but Everything Sad Is Untrue is unapologetically pro-Christian in most respects. It is Daniel Nayeri's own life story, beginning in 1980s/90s Iran and following a wild course across Europe and to the United States, where eight-year-old Khosrou (his name was later changed to Daniel) and his fractured family make a new life for themselves in the southwestern state of Oklahoma. The narrative jumps between twelve-year-old Daniel in the present day and Khosrou at age five, three, or sometimes even younger, but it follows a thematic progression as he comes to accept his own failings and learn that however his mother, father, and older sister may have let him down, they are his most important connections in the world and he is blessed to have them.
"Here is something I would like to tell you—stories get better as they get more true."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 36
Life in Iran isn't bad for Daniel's family. His father, a dentist, earns a good wage. The Nayeris are respected members of the community until the day Daniel's sister claims a face-to-face encounter with Jesus Christ himself, a moment that propels the family into a perilous spiritual journey. When Daniel's mother becomes a Christian, her children obediently follow suit. This is a problem in Iran, where converting away from Islam can be a capital offense. Daniel's mother joins a church that meets in secret, away from spying neighbors and government agents, but they can't hide forever. She places herself and her kids in the care of God and opts for a daring escape to Europe, where she won't be killed for her religious convictions. Is there hope of making it out of Iran alive?
"Never believe that villains are hurting people by accident. They want to get better at their craft of breaking jaws just as you want to get better at art or music."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 298
We bounce back and forth between their escape from the Middle East and life in the U.S. years later, where Daniel bumps up against all kinds of cultural walls. Oklahomans don't understand Persian storytelling structure, cuisine, or etiquette, and Daniel struggles to express himself to his teacher and peers at school. Some resent him as a refugee, others because of his dark skin, but most simply don't comprehend Daniel's culture and have a hard time getting close to him. His stress is elevated by his mother's marriage to Ray, an abusive man who uses his martial arts training against Daniel's mother. Yet she remains married to Ray because Daniel's father, the dentist, had to stay in Iran, and she believes her son needs an older male influence. Daniel can only hope one day his father will come to America so their family can piece itself back together. What other dramas and worries will float Daniel's way as he steps out into the no-man's-land of adolescence? He'll find out soon.
"Memories are tricky things.
They can fade or fester.
You have to seal them up tight like pickles and keep out impurities like how hurt you feel when you open them. Or they'll ferment and poison your brain."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, PP. 92-93
"Maybe we get the endings we deserve. Or maybe the endings we practice."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 256
A tough story to digest: that's what I'll say about Everything Sad Is Untrue. It's even tougher to accurately rate. The timeline zigzags a lot, and abruptly; story elements are casually mentioned that we haven't yet been made privy to, which is confusing. Daniel the preteen narrator goes off on tangents and sub-tangents, telling stories about family history and Persian lore that I doubt will keep the attention of most kid readers. Daniel the author is a deep, original thinker though, and if you have the endurance to make it to this book's end, you'll probably be glad you did. The emotional climax is built to beautifully throughout the book. I'll rate Everything Sad Is Untrue two and a half stars, and if it were more focused it could have been a masterpiece. Thank you for sharing your story, Daniel Nayeri. It has much to teach us.
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 37
This book, which debuted in the pandemic year of 2020, represented something different from other mainstream American children's novels of the era. Most such books were secular; if they mentioned God or Christianity, it tended to be in a negative light, but Everything Sad Is Untrue is unapologetically pro-Christian in most respects. It is Daniel Nayeri's own life story, beginning in 1980s/90s Iran and following a wild course across Europe and to the United States, where eight-year-old Khosrou (his name was later changed to Daniel) and his fractured family make a new life for themselves in the southwestern state of Oklahoma. The narrative jumps between twelve-year-old Daniel in the present day and Khosrou at age five, three, or sometimes even younger, but it follows a thematic progression as he comes to accept his own failings and learn that however his mother, father, and older sister may have let him down, they are his most important connections in the world and he is blessed to have them.
"Here is something I would like to tell you—stories get better as they get more true."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 36
Life in Iran isn't bad for Daniel's family. His father, a dentist, earns a good wage. The Nayeris are respected members of the community until the day Daniel's sister claims a face-to-face encounter with Jesus Christ himself, a moment that propels the family into a perilous spiritual journey. When Daniel's mother becomes a Christian, her children obediently follow suit. This is a problem in Iran, where converting away from Islam can be a capital offense. Daniel's mother joins a church that meets in secret, away from spying neighbors and government agents, but they can't hide forever. She places herself and her kids in the care of God and opts for a daring escape to Europe, where she won't be killed for her religious convictions. Is there hope of making it out of Iran alive?
"Never believe that villains are hurting people by accident. They want to get better at their craft of breaking jaws just as you want to get better at art or music."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 298
We bounce back and forth between their escape from the Middle East and life in the U.S. years later, where Daniel bumps up against all kinds of cultural walls. Oklahomans don't understand Persian storytelling structure, cuisine, or etiquette, and Daniel struggles to express himself to his teacher and peers at school. Some resent him as a refugee, others because of his dark skin, but most simply don't comprehend Daniel's culture and have a hard time getting close to him. His stress is elevated by his mother's marriage to Ray, an abusive man who uses his martial arts training against Daniel's mother. Yet she remains married to Ray because Daniel's father, the dentist, had to stay in Iran, and she believes her son needs an older male influence. Daniel can only hope one day his father will come to America so their family can piece itself back together. What other dramas and worries will float Daniel's way as he steps out into the no-man's-land of adolescence? He'll find out soon.
"Memories are tricky things.
They can fade or fester.
You have to seal them up tight like pickles and keep out impurities like how hurt you feel when you open them. Or they'll ferment and poison your brain."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, PP. 92-93
"Maybe we get the endings we deserve. Or maybe the endings we practice."
—Everything Sad Is Untrue, P. 256
A tough story to digest: that's what I'll say about Everything Sad Is Untrue. It's even tougher to accurately rate. The timeline zigzags a lot, and abruptly; story elements are casually mentioned that we haven't yet been made privy to, which is confusing. Daniel the preteen narrator goes off on tangents and sub-tangents, telling stories about family history and Persian lore that I doubt will keep the attention of most kid readers. Daniel the author is a deep, original thinker though, and if you have the endurance to make it to this book's end, you'll probably be glad you did. The emotional climax is built to beautifully throughout the book. I'll rate Everything Sad Is Untrue two and a half stars, and if it were more focused it could have been a masterpiece. Thank you for sharing your story, Daniel Nayeri. It has much to teach us.
Read
February 3, 2021I have a soft spot for immigrant stories, for tales of reinvention and survival. Every family has its mythical figures. In a series of well told stories, Daniel introduces us to his. But more than that, he makes a powerful case for reading stories like his, for listening with the intention of hearing.
February 4, 2021
I’ve never read anything quite like this book, and I mean that in the best possible way.
March 23, 2022
Is everything sad going to come untrue? — Samwise Gamgee in Return of the King
Daniel Nayeri's autobiographical novel swept me away. Just lifted me up like an Oklahoma tornado and placed me square in the life of a middle school Persian immigrant. After I finished it, of course I obsessed. Watched all the YouTube videos Daniel Nayeri was in, read articles by his sister Dina Nayeri, put some other books on hold by these sibling authors.
What did I love? I loved Daniel's mother. His unstoppable mom is the hero of this story. If you have 9 minutes, stop reading and watch the video of the mother and son making cream puffs together. #smitten [Go to YouTube and search Daniel Nayeri. It should be at the top.]
In the same way that Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner gave us a glimpse of Afghanistan, Daniel Nayeri shows us how much he loves Iran. Both books are infused with a deep-seated yearning.
Daniel's story covers the whole gamut of emotions. He makes you cringe, suck in your breath, laugh, think, groan, shudder, pause, hope, and wonder. His story is the photo negative of many refugee stories. His life was full, rich and comfortable in Iran. When his family escaped Iran, he became familiar with bullying, poverty, displacement, rejection, and good old garden-variety difficulties.
If you have thoughts about the manipulation of St.John Rivers in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, I promise you'll have similar thoughts about the Oklahoma minister who used a Sunday evening service for a facile sermon preached directly to Daniel's Muslim father to score a "conversion."
And there are poop stories. I never imagined I would Google "Persian toilet". What an education!
Daniel gave a splendid narration on the audiobook.
But like you, I was made carefully, by a God who loved what He saw.
Daniel Nayeri's autobiographical novel swept me away. Just lifted me up like an Oklahoma tornado and placed me square in the life of a middle school Persian immigrant. After I finished it, of course I obsessed. Watched all the YouTube videos Daniel Nayeri was in, read articles by his sister Dina Nayeri, put some other books on hold by these sibling authors.
What did I love? I loved Daniel's mother. His unstoppable mom is the hero of this story. If you have 9 minutes, stop reading and watch the video of the mother and son making cream puffs together. #smitten [Go to YouTube and search Daniel Nayeri. It should be at the top.]
In the same way that Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner gave us a glimpse of Afghanistan, Daniel Nayeri shows us how much he loves Iran. Both books are infused with a deep-seated yearning.
Daniel's story covers the whole gamut of emotions. He makes you cringe, suck in your breath, laugh, think, groan, shudder, pause, hope, and wonder. His story is the photo negative of many refugee stories. His life was full, rich and comfortable in Iran. When his family escaped Iran, he became familiar with bullying, poverty, displacement, rejection, and good old garden-variety difficulties.
If you have thoughts about the manipulation of St.John Rivers in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, I promise you'll have similar thoughts about the Oklahoma minister who used a Sunday evening service for a facile sermon preached directly to Daniel's Muslim father to score a "conversion."
And there are poop stories. I never imagined I would Google "Persian toilet". What an education!
Daniel gave a splendid narration on the audiobook.
But like you, I was made carefully, by a God who loved what He saw.
March 20, 2021
I like that this is a memoir about Nayeri's journey to America from Iran following a life and death situation (we don't know the real reason until pretty far into the book, so I won't reveal it here). This book feels like it wants to do several things at one time and I'm not sure it gets to the meat of any of those things.
It wants to give a rich history of the oral tradition of storytelling and poetry in Iran. But, there isn't enough time spent in exploring these writers and poets. It feels as if Nayeri mimics the never-ending story through his narrative and the lack of breaks or chapters. It's daunting in a way that it shouldn't be. I almost gave up, but liked the writing enough to stick with it.
This book also wants to navigate life as an outsider in America. Nayeri does succeed in seeing the world through his childhood self's eyes, but he jerks us out of those moments when they are at their most successful.
It also wants to be a chronicle of his family's history. But, we don't ever get enough of the details to understand the thread that leads to Nayeri. Maybe that's his point though. That he doesn't know the provenance of his own parents.
I finished the book and I marked some passages, but I never felt emotionally invested. Also, if this is aimed at younger readers, I think it would be cumbersome.
It wants to give a rich history of the oral tradition of storytelling and poetry in Iran. But, there isn't enough time spent in exploring these writers and poets. It feels as if Nayeri mimics the never-ending story through his narrative and the lack of breaks or chapters. It's daunting in a way that it shouldn't be. I almost gave up, but liked the writing enough to stick with it.
This book also wants to navigate life as an outsider in America. Nayeri does succeed in seeing the world through his childhood self's eyes, but he jerks us out of those moments when they are at their most successful.
It also wants to be a chronicle of his family's history. But, we don't ever get enough of the details to understand the thread that leads to Nayeri. Maybe that's his point though. That he doesn't know the provenance of his own parents.
I finished the book and I marked some passages, but I never felt emotionally invested. Also, if this is aimed at younger readers, I think it would be cumbersome.
November 18, 2023
I’d been hearing about Everything Sad Is Untrue for some time already, and then my alma mater selected it as their “Core Book” for this year, which includes reading groups, seminars, and other activities and resources throughout the year. And now I’ve been able to read it myself, and I can affirm that it’s one of the best books I’ve encountered in a long time. It’s essentially a memoir of the author, Daniel Nayeri, telling about his experience as a refugee, forced out of Iran because of his mother’s conversion to Christianity, and relocated to Edmond, Oklahoma. Those details alone are enough of a blurb to make me interested. But what I found especially brilliant about the writing is that Nayeri chooses to tell the story from the point of view of himself in seventh grade, as he tries through that school year to explain to his teacher and classmates where he came from, what his family is like, and who he is. Seventh-grade Daniel sees himself as crafting a “Thousand and One Nights,” putting stories together that will, he hopes, build into a way of creating empathy and understanding in his class.
As I read these stories, I was captivated by the seamless transitions from one story to the next (there are no chapter breaks in the book; it is a continuous narrative with occasional section breaks). What Nayeri constructs is, in a way, stream of consciousness, but done in such a way that everything fits together like an intricate puzzle. As young Nayeri spins out the stories, what he does is create a language that feels more and more like a private language between him and me. Words that are mentioned in passing early in the book later come to have much deeper meaning. And many details that are once explained then show up again as a shorthand way of sharing an understanding about a later story. I can’t think of many other books, let alone books at this young-adult-reader level, that successfully bring together so many details in such a mesmerizing way.
Nayeri’s desire to build empathy is, for me, completely successful. I learned a lot about his story, much of which is transferable to many other refugees’ stories (though I found the book to be careful not to invite overgeneralizations; it is always Daniel’s story, but we sense that a lot of other people share aspects of it). It’s a book that makes me want to be a better person, more genuinely interested in people’s stories, and always willing to look beneath the surface to discover who a person really is. In the end, the book suggests (indirectly) that who we are comes from both our innate personalities (the people we’d be no matter what our actual experience) and the things we enjoy and endure in our journeys.
In Nayeri’s excellent presentation last month at Wheaton College, he builds on some of these ideas by sharing a selection of what he believes are great questions to ask anyone. The presentation is well worth watching (after you read the book). I hope someday I’ll have the opportunity to have a conversation with Daniel and think together about some of these questions. For now, he has become one of the few authors who makes me want to read everything he writes. (His newest book is on hold for me at the library right now, and I’m picking it up today.)
This was a selection for our book club, and I'm looking forward to talking about it with the guys next month.
As I read these stories, I was captivated by the seamless transitions from one story to the next (there are no chapter breaks in the book; it is a continuous narrative with occasional section breaks). What Nayeri constructs is, in a way, stream of consciousness, but done in such a way that everything fits together like an intricate puzzle. As young Nayeri spins out the stories, what he does is create a language that feels more and more like a private language between him and me. Words that are mentioned in passing early in the book later come to have much deeper meaning. And many details that are once explained then show up again as a shorthand way of sharing an understanding about a later story. I can’t think of many other books, let alone books at this young-adult-reader level, that successfully bring together so many details in such a mesmerizing way.
Nayeri’s desire to build empathy is, for me, completely successful. I learned a lot about his story, much of which is transferable to many other refugees’ stories (though I found the book to be careful not to invite overgeneralizations; it is always Daniel’s story, but we sense that a lot of other people share aspects of it). It’s a book that makes me want to be a better person, more genuinely interested in people’s stories, and always willing to look beneath the surface to discover who a person really is. In the end, the book suggests (indirectly) that who we are comes from both our innate personalities (the people we’d be no matter what our actual experience) and the things we enjoy and endure in our journeys.
In Nayeri’s excellent presentation last month at Wheaton College, he builds on some of these ideas by sharing a selection of what he believes are great questions to ask anyone. The presentation is well worth watching (after you read the book). I hope someday I’ll have the opportunity to have a conversation with Daniel and think together about some of these questions. For now, he has become one of the few authors who makes me want to read everything he writes. (His newest book is on hold for me at the library right now, and I’m picking it up today.)
This was a selection for our book club, and I'm looking forward to talking about it with the guys next month.
February 23, 2021
When I first heard of this book by Daniel Nayeri I knew it would be good. What I didn't know was how powerfully it would hit. I desperately needed the hope that Daniel's writing offers. Turns out, I also needed to remember that there's a cost for joy, and that it's always worth it.
I couldn't wait to get to my local bookstore to buy the book (which I'm still going to do #shoplocal), so I borrowed the audiobook (which the author reads). It's worth a listen. I can't wait to read it with my eyeballs soon.
Friends, please read this book.
I couldn't wait to get to my local bookstore to buy the book (which I'm still going to do #shoplocal), so I borrowed the audiobook (which the author reads). It's worth a listen. I can't wait to read it with my eyeballs soon.
Friends, please read this book.
October 20, 2025
Stories are a great way to develop empathy. Nayeri writes as a 12-year-old Iranian refugee in Oklahoma, helping readers understand the challenges and promise of navigating life in a new country. He plays with the memories he has, reflecting on how memories are sometimes unreliable ways of seeing the world. I loved this story -- poop, Jesus, family myths and all!
Update: I re-read this book in preparation to meet the author and loved it just as much the second time! Nayeri is a marvelous storyteller.
Update: I re-read this book in preparation to meet the author and loved it just as much the second time! Nayeri is a marvelous storyteller.
February 11, 2021
I'm very clearly in the minority on this one but I just couldn't really get into this book. I get what it was trying to do, I think. But I was mostly bored or distracted. 3 stars because it's a good topic and the last hour of the book really captured me. If the whole thing had been like that it would have been fantastic.
I think I struggled a bit because it's not a story that's super accessible or approachable from the beginning. He starts by telling a lot of fairy tales, mythology, or folktale style stories about his family and ancestors. It's kind of a jumble and I know that's sort of the point - the Iranian way of storytelling is different. But I just felt like I didn’t really know the main character or any of the characters until about halfway through the book, and as a result I just didn't care all that much.
I listened to this one on audio and I'm not sure if that was better or worse. I found myself getting confused trying to figure out what story he was talking about now and who was related to who. Sometimes in his stories he called his mom and dad by their first names and I didn't even realize that's who he was talking about half the time. I felt like I needed a family tree or guide something. I'm not sure if it would have made more sense reading instead of listening. I know the book doesn't have chapters which didn't bother me on audio because I don't typically stop at chapters when I'm listening to something on my commute.
The age that this is geared at is a bit confusing too. The main character is young, but I can't see most middle schoolers understanding the story or having the patience for it. I know a lot of places are putting it in YA but because the main character is young I think they might not have the same sort of tolerance for him from a teen perspective - there are certainly some immature type things like a lot of references and stories about poop. I think it's more likely adults will appreciate this one but it's not really being marketed that way.
The "real life" bits of Daniel's life in Oklahoma were really poignant and emotional and I connected with those. I wanted more of that story. The ending had me both laughing at parts and tearing up a little. I think his own story is great. It's important and I wish it was more accessible to the kids I work with in terms of interest.
I think I struggled a bit because it's not a story that's super accessible or approachable from the beginning. He starts by telling a lot of fairy tales, mythology, or folktale style stories about his family and ancestors. It's kind of a jumble and I know that's sort of the point - the Iranian way of storytelling is different. But I just felt like I didn’t really know the main character or any of the characters until about halfway through the book, and as a result I just didn't care all that much.
I listened to this one on audio and I'm not sure if that was better or worse. I found myself getting confused trying to figure out what story he was talking about now and who was related to who. Sometimes in his stories he called his mom and dad by their first names and I didn't even realize that's who he was talking about half the time. I felt like I needed a family tree or guide something. I'm not sure if it would have made more sense reading instead of listening. I know the book doesn't have chapters which didn't bother me on audio because I don't typically stop at chapters when I'm listening to something on my commute.
The age that this is geared at is a bit confusing too. The main character is young, but I can't see most middle schoolers understanding the story or having the patience for it. I know a lot of places are putting it in YA but because the main character is young I think they might not have the same sort of tolerance for him from a teen perspective - there are certainly some immature type things like a lot of references and stories about poop. I think it's more likely adults will appreciate this one but it's not really being marketed that way.
The "real life" bits of Daniel's life in Oklahoma were really poignant and emotional and I connected with those. I wanted more of that story. The ending had me both laughing at parts and tearing up a little. I think his own story is great. It's important and I wish it was more accessible to the kids I work with in terms of interest.
September 12, 2023
4⭐ He's so skilled in storytelling that it didn't feel so much like a memoir. BIPOC author and cultural representation.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri is a powerful and beautifully crafted memoir that weaves together personal anecdotes with fables and Persian history. Through its unique storytelling approach, Nayeri offers readers a poignant exploration of identity, family, and the search for belonging.
The memoir chronicles Daniel Nayeri's journey from his childhood in Iran to his family's eventual resettlement in the United States as refugees. Nayeri combines personal stories with the mythic tales his mother told him, creating a narrative that navigates the complexities of his identity as a refugee and a person torn between two cultures.
Daniel Nayeri's writing style in "Everything Sad is Untrue" is lyrical and emotionally resonant, reflecting the fusion of personal and mythic narratives. The prose captures the raw emotions of the author's experiences and the vividness of the stories that shaped his understanding of the world.
The characters in the memoir, including Nayeri and his family members, are depicted with depth and authenticity. Nayeri's own growth from a child grappling with displacement to an individual who reconciles his past with his present forms the heart of the narrative.
The memoir delves into themes of identity, storytelling, and the enduring power of narratives to shape our sense of self. Nayeri's use of fables and family stories becomes symbolic of the ways in which we construct our identities through the tales we tell ourselves and others.
The central conflict centers around Nayeri's search for belonging and understanding, both within his family and within the broader context of his identity as a refugee. The narrative's weaving of personal stories with mythic tales creates a rich tapestry of experiences and emotions.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" elicits a range of emotions, from empathy to contemplation, as it traverses the complexities of Nayeri's life and the broader themes of displacement and cultural identity. The memoir's exploration of storytelling and the bonds between generations prompts readers to reflect on their own connections to family history and the narratives that shape their lives.
Nayeri's strength lies in his ability to craft a narrative that seamlessly combines personal anecdotes with universal themes. The memoir's blend of cultural insight and emotional depth contributes to its impact. Some readers might find the non-linear narrative structure and the incorporation of fables initially challenging, but the richness of the storytelling makes this a rewarding read.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri is a poignant and beautifully written memoir that captures the complexity of the refugee experience and the power of storytelling to shape our understanding of the world. With its lyrical prose, introspective exploration of identity, and fusion of personal and mythic narratives, the book offers a moving and thought-provoking reading experience. Recommended for readers who appreciate memoirs that delve into the intersection of personal history and broader cultural themes, this memoir invites readers to reflect on the stories that define us and the connections that transcend borders.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri is a powerful and beautifully crafted memoir that weaves together personal anecdotes with fables and Persian history. Through its unique storytelling approach, Nayeri offers readers a poignant exploration of identity, family, and the search for belonging.
The memoir chronicles Daniel Nayeri's journey from his childhood in Iran to his family's eventual resettlement in the United States as refugees. Nayeri combines personal stories with the mythic tales his mother told him, creating a narrative that navigates the complexities of his identity as a refugee and a person torn between two cultures.
Daniel Nayeri's writing style in "Everything Sad is Untrue" is lyrical and emotionally resonant, reflecting the fusion of personal and mythic narratives. The prose captures the raw emotions of the author's experiences and the vividness of the stories that shaped his understanding of the world.
The characters in the memoir, including Nayeri and his family members, are depicted with depth and authenticity. Nayeri's own growth from a child grappling with displacement to an individual who reconciles his past with his present forms the heart of the narrative.
The memoir delves into themes of identity, storytelling, and the enduring power of narratives to shape our sense of self. Nayeri's use of fables and family stories becomes symbolic of the ways in which we construct our identities through the tales we tell ourselves and others.
The central conflict centers around Nayeri's search for belonging and understanding, both within his family and within the broader context of his identity as a refugee. The narrative's weaving of personal stories with mythic tales creates a rich tapestry of experiences and emotions.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" elicits a range of emotions, from empathy to contemplation, as it traverses the complexities of Nayeri's life and the broader themes of displacement and cultural identity. The memoir's exploration of storytelling and the bonds between generations prompts readers to reflect on their own connections to family history and the narratives that shape their lives.
Nayeri's strength lies in his ability to craft a narrative that seamlessly combines personal anecdotes with universal themes. The memoir's blend of cultural insight and emotional depth contributes to its impact. Some readers might find the non-linear narrative structure and the incorporation of fables initially challenging, but the richness of the storytelling makes this a rewarding read.
"Everything Sad is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri is a poignant and beautifully written memoir that captures the complexity of the refugee experience and the power of storytelling to shape our understanding of the world. With its lyrical prose, introspective exploration of identity, and fusion of personal and mythic narratives, the book offers a moving and thought-provoking reading experience. Recommended for readers who appreciate memoirs that delve into the intersection of personal history and broader cultural themes, this memoir invites readers to reflect on the stories that define us and the connections that transcend borders.
July 31, 2025
"You are just Persian in your own way, with a flaw"
January 9, 2022
Storytelling at its best!
Except it's not only storytelling, this is author Daniel Nayari sharing his memories of immigrating from Iran to Edmund, Oklahoma as a young boy! Add this one to your novels for high school World Literature. I know I am excited to share this one with my high school English teachers.
Except it's not only storytelling, this is author Daniel Nayari sharing his memories of immigrating from Iran to Edmund, Oklahoma as a young boy! Add this one to your novels for high school World Literature. I know I am excited to share this one with my high school English teachers.
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