Loukia Borrell’s Reviews > Wedding Song: Memoirs of an Iranian Jewish Woman > Status Update

I am enjoying this book more than I was in the beginning. About halfway through, I am really seeing a bigger picture of this young child who is struggling against her own feelings and that of the culture in which she is being raised. It seems almost unbelievable, given her beginnings, that she came to America, married and has a prestigious university job. Perhaps unbelievable is the wrong word; I might be looking for amazing, as in an amazing life. I also have been struck by the similarities between the Jewish culture in Iran and the Greek-Cypriot culture in Cyprus during similar periods in history. When my mother was growing up in Cyprus during the 1930s and 1940s, she also described her father as not wanting her to expose her arms and shoulders when she dressed. Her behaviour had to be modest and conservative. It was nothing for a male family member to slap a female or berate them in front of family, as Farideh describes happened to her when she spoke of women being able to attend university for free. There also was a frugal nature to Cypriot society, as there was in Iran, with villagers haggling over prices in markets, etc. Cypriots also have the evil-eye pendant to ward off evil. I am looking forward to reading about Farideh's education and how she eventually left Iran for a new life in the United States.