Sons and Other Flammable Objects

Sons and Other Flammable Objects (2007) is a novel by the Iranian-American novelist Porochista Khakpour. It is published by New York Grove (ISBN 9780802118530).

The book depicts the struggles of an Iranian family to make sense of their new lives in the United States following their emigration from Iran. The history of the nation is embedded in the personal history of the characters, similar to The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat.[1]

The novel won the 77th California Book Award for First Fiction.[2] It was also a New York Times Editor's Choice[3] and included on the Chicago Tribune's 2007 "Fall's Best" list. It was also shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and long-listed for the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize.[4]

Reviews

According to Kirkus Reviews, the characters are "caught between incompatible worlds, one past and romanticized, the other present but inaccessible."[5] The New York Times praised the novel for its "punchy conversation, vivid detail, sharp humor."[6] Grove Atlantic favorably compared it to Zadie Smith's White Teeth for its "rolling storytelling cadences and wry wit".[7]

References
  1. Amiri, Cyrus; Govah, Mahdiyeh (September 22, 2021). "Hedayat's rebellious child: multicultural rewriting of The Blind Owl in Porochista Khakpour's Sons and Other Flammable Objects". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 50 (2): 436–449. doi:10.1080/13530194.2021.1978279. ISSN 1353-0194. S2CID 240547754. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  2. "The 77th Annual California Book Awards: Featuring Michael Chabon & Khaled Hosseini - June 5, 2008". Upcoming.org Archive. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  3. "Editor's Choice". The New York Times. September 16, 2007. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  4. Dickinson, Elizabeth Evitts (November 2008). "American Girl". Johns Hopkins Magazine. 60 (5). Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  5. Sons and other flammable objects. May 20, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. Budnitz, Judy (September 9, 2007). "Family Baggage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  7. Sons and Other Flammable Objects. Grove Atlantic Publisher. Retrieved November 21, 2021.


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