Life As a Visitor

by Angella M. Nazarian

As an 11-year-old Iranian Jew, Angella Nazarian was forced by increasing violence from her childhood cocoon in Tehran. Part memoir, part travel diary, Life as a Visitor presents two interwoven narratives—of her family's harrowing escape from revolution-rocked Iran to the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills, and of Nazarian's own quest to understand her past and her present. The author's spectacular journeys through foreign lands, from wildebeest safaris to the gates of Petra, take in brutal poverty in Cambodia, exquisite beauty in Marbella, Spain, and one lonely tortoise in the Galapagos Islands. Featuring an evocative selection of images, this multifaceted, impressionistic mix of prose and poetry is rich in observation and sensuous detail, exploring the peculiar collapses of time and space made by memory.

Genres: Jewish, Memoir

168 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Lynn Lumayag-Bardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very nice novel, almost a picture book with all the beautiful nostalgic shots of places and things. My only comment is, I feel like the story needed to be longer. There were missing pieces of the author's life-she covered only from leaving Iran then her school life at Beverly Hills High School (after they moved to LA) then next thing, her married life and her kids. Some parts of the story were also not in order (how she wanted her parents to be around for her birthdays while growing up and such then following that, her excursions in Africa with her husband and kids...eh??). Nonetheless the poems and pictures were fantastic! 'Loved them!

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written account of moving from Iran to Beverly Hills. Gorgeous photography intermingled with poems and narrative. (I think the author is the sister-in-llaw of Sam Nazarian, the hotel and nightclub owner.)

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the photographs and how the stories are elaborately written. Difficult situations mostly about Iran really made me sad and scared. While pretty locations made me wish i could go there.
Maybe this kind of book aids movie ideas.