Manchester District Library Book Club discussion

Please share your thoughts.

My 3 star review:
It was a little difficult to get into this book but overall I enjoyed it. The narrator is a middle school boy who immigrated Iran and is growing up in the United States. His mother, sister and he fled their home country due to his mother's conversion to Christianity. They spent time as refugees in Italy and eventually made it to Oklahoma. Although the U.S. offers freedom, they live in poverty and Daniel misses his father, extended family and aspects of his life in Iran. The style is very stream of consciousness and Daniel jumps between family stories, memories and anecdotes. It is a true story to the extent a person's memories and family legends can be an accurate depiction of what actually happened. I would recommend the book if you enjoy glimpses into cultures you are not familiar with.

I finally got my review completed on Goodreads! Because I had to take out all of the sticky notes I had used for special quotes in the book I went to the Goodreads quotes for this book. I found this one which might answer the question we discussed about Daniel's sister.
“In all our lives, my sister only told me her stories twice. We never compared our memories, ever. I think because where they were the same, they were painful and obvious. And where they were different--even just a little--they were so important to each of us, that we hated each other for not remembering them as we did.”
― Daniel Nayeri, Everything Sad Is Untrue

I’m still thinking about this book. I don’t often try to analyze why I like a book - I just either do or don’t on a gut level and move on to the next one. As a book club read, though, it was interesting to me that I seemed to be so much more taken by it than most everyone else. I didn’t find the story sad (tragic, yes, but not sad). I felt like I knew Daniel immediately and liked him. I loved how he was telling these stories about how he lost so much - security, beauty, love, culture; how he was faced with derision and total lack of empathy and understanding; how alone he felt and in fact was in his new life … all without a trace of self-pity. Ultimately, I think that’s what got me. Daniel never asked me to feel sorry for him; he just wanted me to see and believe him.

Thanks for giving some real thought about why you liked this story. The reasons you gave are pretty much the way I felt too. I didn’t feel it met the 5 star designation though which means; you thought it was amazing. “I really liked it” though and gave it 4 stars.

It’s hard to feel amazed anymore. Although, I do think the author had a clever way of delivering the story. But this may have been why it was confusing for some readers and they gave it a lower rating.