Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The littlest (quietest) revolutionary

The One & Only Googoosh: Iran's Beloved Superstar by Azadeh Westergaard

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Azadeh Westergaard’s The One & Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar is an interesting biographical book about a performer of Iran who is probably not well known to the general public. Even though she did a concert in the 2000’s I had never heard of her. But then again, I am not familiar with many international performers. But also, maybe her decades long forced silence in her homeland of Iran had something to do with it (and the fact that the concert mentioned in Westergaard’s book […]

An Emotional, Vital Story

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

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I don’t know that I know how to talk about this book except that GOSH it’s amazing and good and powerful and I am so glad it exists and I can’t wait for more people to have the chance to read it! At its core, Only This Beautiful Moment is a story of family and community, of fighting for your beliefs and also learning who you are and want to be. Told across three generations, Moud, Saeed, and Bobby are each discovering their history and […]

We all find refuge any place we can.

Refuge by Dina Nayeri

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Refuge is, appropriately, about the places we seek refuge: partnerships, houses, families, communities, meals, spaces.  The narrative is mostly about Niloo, a young Iranian-American who emigrated to the U.S. with her mother and brother in the 80s.  Niloo’s father, a dentist with a proclivity for opium, remained in Iran.  Niloo is now a 30 year old living in Amsterdam and married to a French dude who by all accounts adores her, and her father is divorcing his third wife and apparently interested in rekindling some […]

Sex, drugs and a little rock-n-roll in Iran

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

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Interestingly, in several ways I liked Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return better than the first book. And yet, I enjoyed the first book more. I put this towards Marjane Satrapi’s continuation of the first book by picking up where she left off but this time showing more growth. Literally (she has a growth spurt and puberty hits hard) and figuratively (learning about “new” authors, ideas, respect different cultures seem to have, values, drugs and more.). Though about the same amount of years go […]

Picture it: Iran 1979 and the world will never be the same

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by  Marjane Satrapi

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#cbr11bingo #banned Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1) by Marjane Satrapi (translated by Matia Ripa), was not what I expected. On one hand, I really had no idea what to expect; on the other hand, I had preconceived notions. But what it boils down to is, I am not sure I really liked this book. Or liked Satrapi. Many books I have come away with a feeling of, “I could be friends with that author.” Or at least, we could have a conversation as we […]

A debut novel with pomegranates on the cover; obviously, I bought it.

The Girl from the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan

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This was on a list somewhere of noteworthy debut novels, and I quite enjoyed it.  It’s a fine novel and what’s more, it ticks almost all of my “I obviously have to read that” categories: historical fiction set in the Middle East!  Inter-generational family drama!  Slyly feminist messaging!  Pomegranates on the cover! This is the story of a wealthy family of Persian Jews in early twentieth-century Iran.  Asher Malacouti is the head – an astute businessman who has multiplied his family’s wealth.  His wife Rachel […]



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