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Book Review, The Good Daughter
19-Jan-2011
Book Review, The Good Daughter
It’s good.
Okay what else can I say? I have never written any book reviews in my life, before this one. O’ yeah, I also hardly ever read any books either. I can’t tolerate them, going through page after page of blah blah blah. I have a ton of half-read books in my apartment; Rosemary’s Baby, Letters to My Torturer, World Almanac, just to name three, but also Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul, and The Museum of Innocence. I mean, give me a break! Orhan was supposed to be so good that once one started reading one of his books one could not put it down until the end of it. But I did, one-third through Istanbul I put it down, and I haven’t picked it up yet. The toilet paper page marker is still between pages 118 and 119. And, don’t let me forget about Shakespeare’s Sonnets. What a nutcase of a man! Here is one of his poems:
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end,
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Well! Actually, by coincident this poem ain’t that bad. I think the last line is supposed to mean, with successive efforts they all, the pebbles, strive to move forward; and that’s what we have here with Jasmin Darznik’s new book, The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life. It is the story of three generations of women in the life of the author, “each changing place with that which goes before.” Each woman is trapped in their own place and time, struggling to move forward.
Jasmin Darznik’s well researched book, which I read in two days, chronicles the story of her mother’s hidden past, through the abuses in her life, and lives before her; their struggles with poverty, unjust marital life, and ills of the society, in a place and time that no longer seem to exist till a photograph is accidentally found half way around the world; a picture of Jasmin’s mother in a wedding veil, standing next to a man whom Jasmin has never known before.
But through this tale we learn how the life of a woman with a broken nose in Avenue Monirieh is connected to the life of a grand-daughter in the USA, who eventually graduated with a Doctorate Degree in English literature from Princeton University. The story that is told by Jasmin’s mother takes us to a place and time where women in dusty streets of Tehran were virtually without any rights. Once the photograph is discovered, Jasmin's mother, Lili, refuses to talk about it, but eventually she begins to share her story with Jasmin, through cassette tapes sent to her by mail, revealing a history of abuse and neglect. It’s through these tapes that it’s revealed that Lili was forced to abandon a daughter by her first marriage, a price she had to pay to escape that wretched life.
The book is a treasure to read. For those who still remember the old days of living in Iran, it will touch you in ways that might have been hidden deep inside, and for those non-Iranians who don’t know, it’s filled with a wealth of information about a way of life in an exotic land.
There is no shame in moving forward, “as the waves make towards the pebbled shore.”
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Thank you for the updates
by Multiple Personality Disorder on Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:30 AM PST... and I'm glad you liked the book.
..........
by yolanda on Thu Feb 03, 2011 06:17 PM PSTHi! MPD (aka the dead ringer of Peter Sellers),
1) I finished the book! The writing style of this book reminds me of Temporary Bride's........the author mentioned about food, cooking, Persian food preparation throughout the entire book......it was fun.....Lili's mom, Kobra, spent 3 days cooking for Lili's 2nd wedding reception...the book mentions eating "stew" all the time, but rarely talking about eating kabob.....they ate spinnach pancakes for Nowruz!
2) The author also has very detialed description of girl's clothing and footwear......Lili wore pale blue dress for her 1st wedding, white dress for her 2nd wedding.......it is totally opposite of here: white for 1st wedding, other colors for 2nd wedding!
3) Lili has a tough life.....the 1st hubby was a sadist; the 2nd hubby was an alcoholic! Her 1st daughter called her a prostitute.....the phrase "I love you" is invisible in the book!
4) Lili's family is like the cross-section of Iranian society! I found a lot of parallels: AR Pahlavi committed suicde; Lili's suitor committed suicide! Iran has the highest traffic accidents in the world; Lili's dad was killed in a car accident.
5) Lili and her mom worked so hard! They were like cement holding their respective families together thru the hard time.......
6) From this book, I was shocked to read that there were hymen reconstruction surgeries before the Revolution in Iran....it was code-named as "embroidery"...OMG!
7) From this book, I can tell that Iranian parents really push for education! They work hard and make sacrifce to send their kids to a good school!
8) I am shocked that Lili has not gone to Iran to visit her daughter and the grandchildren! The author has not met her half sister since she left Iran! Well, I hope one day they can have a family re-union and the author can update her book!
9) This book author is in the process of translating Forough Farraokhzad's poetry......I e-mailed her and asked her when she will publish the translation.
Thank you for the great book review and recommendation!
..........
by yolanda on Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:24 PM PSTHi! MPD,
The book came yesterday as promised by Amazon.....I finished reading 74 pages already......it is a very addictive book.....I am surprised by my pace.....I think I should finish the book way before Spring Break!
1) The author thanked JJ in the acknowledgement section....very interesting!
2) I really like the part mentioning dervishes selling poems on the street of Iran.........sounds very exciting....I ordered a Sufi poetry anthology besides "The Good Daughter" book........not sure if Dervishes are still doing that nowadays.....IRI is not very kind to Dervishes!
3) The interesting and shocking part is the the boodletting by leeches! OMG!
4) I did not know that a big brother had so much power to give away his little sister as a gambling debt to his opponent!
5) The stormy marriage of Jasmin's grandparents foreshadows the doomed marriage of her mom....
6) I learned Iranian history thru this book....it mentioned the mandatory unveiling of 1936......
7) I am amazed by the elaborate wedding preparation: washing body with milk and honey......rinsing the hair with yogurt and rose water...fancy wedding clothes and reception........at the same time, the marriages were loveless and full of violence.........so far the book has not mentioned one tender moment in the marriages, none! It kind of shocks me! I am not sure the reality was like that or the publisher deleted the happy part of the marriage? Both Shorab and Kazem were portrayed as harsh, critical, testy, and violent!.....pretty predictable!
8) The writing is great! I like the choice of words and Finglish embedded in the sentences! It feels very Iranian! Like today I learned a new Finglish "Mohr",the holy stone!
9) Thank you for the book review......I hope to finish the book soon!
.......
by yolanda on Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:01 PM PSTHi! MPD,
Thank you again for the book review.....I ordered the book on Amazon today and also ordered a Sufi/Rumi poetry book......they will deliver the books on 1/26.....I am excited! Initially I thought it is hard to find the time to read a hardcover book, and then I realized that several furlough days are comining, not to mention the Spring break....
Once I am done with the book, I will write a post here!
thanks,
Thank you again for the rest of the comments
by Multiple Personality Disorder on Fri Jan 21, 2011 04:48 PM PSTI'm sure once the book is widely read, we'll form a collective opinion about it, but since this book is not yet well read by the public, I couldn't, and I can't get into any details at this time, and give the story away. But, I am sure the book will be the talk of the town for a while.
MPD jan, consider it Done
by Monda on Fri Jan 21, 2011 02:26 PM PSTI am glad my feelings matter to you :o)
And Ari's point is a valuable one, as usual.
A note on royalties
by Ari Siletz on Thu Jan 20, 2011 04:13 PM PSTThank you again
by Flying Solo on Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:24 AM PSTMPD:
Thank you for your kind offer. I have already placed a hold on the book at my local library. There are 5 people ahead of me for the one copy due in February.
You may wish to support your local library by gifting this or other books.
To:
by Multiple Personality Disorder on Thu Jan 20, 2011 09:29 AM PSTMonda,
Whenever you finally get a chance to read Jasmin’s book, please let me know what you feel about it. It won’t take you very long to read it. It’s a easy book to read. I don’t know, people have different tastes. One short sentence would do.
Flying Solo,
Wow! I was so off the mark I didn't even hit anything. In your first comment here and in Jasmin's article, I thought you were making a point of not buying the book, but now with your explanation it's all clear now. Man! These comments can been taken so in-the-wrong-way. I tell you what, as an apology, I'll buy Jasmin's new book from amazon.com and have them ship it to you. Once you read it you can gift it to your library or to one of your friends, this way I think everyone will be happy; I will have bought you a gift, you get to read the book, library or someone else gets a gift from you, it's a win-win situation.
Yolanda,
Thank you for reading and your comment. If you read the book let me know what you think about it. One short sentence would do.
.
by Anahid Hojjati on Thu Jan 20, 2011 09:38 AM PST.
Good and Fun to read book review
by Monda on Thu Jan 20, 2011 07:09 AM PSTThanks MPD :o)
Darznik's book talks to many of our collective issues, I agree. So it's still on my sooner-than-later to read list.
Thank you
by Flying Solo on Thu Jan 20, 2011 05:39 AM PSTMPD,
What an embarrassingly accusatory tone you appear to have adopted in addressing me. To what do I owe this pleasure ? :)
I gave up buying books 6 months ago. For every book I borrow from the library I gift one to it. At the rate I read, I'll still have books at my home well past the age that I can properly see. :)
FWIW, an author receives a very small fraction of the proceeds from the sale of a book. Writers don't write to make money - obviously. They write for personal reasons, mostly to tell their story and to gain recognition and fame. The more reviews their work gets, the better.
As for your question in regards to me being upset if you don't buy my friend's book. Not really. I have enough faith in my friends to believe that they must have good reasons of their own which I may not appreciate but are valid to them, all the same.
Take care and don't worry about giving me a free ride. Trust me - I have yet to find one that's worth taking. :)
......
by yolanda on Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:18 PM PSTHi! MPD,
I read your blog last nite.....the 1st part of your blog cracked me up 'cause I read all the time...if I don't read....my brain is lonely....but I rarely read books....I don't have the patience to let a book eat up my precious time....:O)......I read news and stuff in wikipedia.......anything longer than that turns me off.......
Your book review got me curious about the book, so I read more on Amazon.....wow! 14 year old child-bride.....must be pretty common in the old days in Iran.....guys keep the children if divorce occurs.......the story reminds me of the movie "The Joy Luck Club"...it is a great movie that moved me to tears!......like Ari said, I hope this book can be made into a movie........according to Amazon, this book won't be out until Jan 27, but it ranks quite high on Amazon already......it must be a great book.......
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you all for reading,
by Multiple Personality Disorder on Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:44 PM PST.
.
Flying Solo,
What’s up with not wanting to buy Jasmin’s book, and either wanting to get it from the library or get it free from a friend? After all, we need to buy our fellow writer’s books to support their hard work. If you, or one of your friends, ever wrote a book, how would you feel if we don’t buy it?
Ari,
Well, I haven’t watched movies on a regular basis for so long I can’t imagine how to do a film review, let alone pick a director. But surprisingly enough, I saw the movie “The English Patient”, and throughout the movie I just wanted to get up and shout, DIE AND GET IT OVER WITH FOR GOD’S SAKE. I know it’s terrible, but that’s why I don’t think I’ll make a good film reviewer.
Divaneh,
I like Orhan Pamuk, but I think that year the Noble Prize for Literature should have gone to Shakespeare. I was so disappointed. Yes, Melancholic is problematic in our Iranian lives, and the women in this book seem hopeless and abused; well because that’s how the laws of the land were, and are, set up that way, but hopefully as we move on forward we learn from our past and progress.
Farnoosh,
I’m glad you have decided to read this book. I hope you’ll like it, but either way please drop a note here and let me know what you thought of it.
Azarin,
I’m glad I made you laugh. You sure need it.
Orhan Pamuk is the greatest writer ever lived. There, I said it.
Great
by Flying Solo on Wed Jan 19, 2011 06:50 PM PSTMPD,
Grateful for the review. Now if only you would pop the book in the mail for me. I promise to return it once I'm finished. :)
Thank youtoon basheh.
MPD
by Ari Siletz on Wed Jan 19, 2011 05:32 PM PSTThanks for the review
by divaneh on Wed Jan 19, 2011 04:48 PM PSTThanks for posting the review dear MPD. It seems an interesting book but sounds a bit Melancholic for my taste. I have read one book from Orhan Pamuk (My name is red) which had an excellent start and very good pace in the first half, but then dragged a little towards the end. Still, a very good novel.
Thank you M.P.D.
by Farnoosh on Wed Jan 19, 2011 03:49 PM PSTI will read this book. I take recommendations for what books to read, but I like drawing my own conclusions about whether a book is good or not. I very much disliked Azar Nafisi's second book, but I don't regret buying and reading it.
Oh my! Let's not exaggerate...:-)
by Azarin Sadegh on Wed Jan 19, 2011 09:25 AM PSTDear MPD,
Reading your review, I can't stop laughing...
As you know I love LOVE Orhan Pamuk and I can't understand how it would be even possible for someone to dislike Pamuk and compare it with Jasmin's memoir!! These books are not comparable. Orhan Pamuk's work is universal (he's got the Nobel prize for god's sake) but Jasmin's work is a well written/well researched fun and easy read about her memories of Iran. Also, I think compared to many other Iranian memoirist Jasmin has done an excellent job (still not as good as Nafisi's two memoirs which I find totally literary and universal too)
Let's not carried away and compare only things which are comparable!
Thanks for the laugh! Az.