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All things sad are untrue5/19/2023 Implementing a distinct literary style and challenging western narrative structures, Nayeri deftly weaves through stories of the long and beautiful history of his family in Iran, adding a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore. Anywhere becomes the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy, and then finally asylum in the U.S. At the core is Daniel’s story of how they became refugees-starting with his mother’s vocal embrace of Christianity in a country that made such a thing a capital offense, and continuing through their midnight flight from the secret police, bribing their way onto a plane-to-anywhere. In an Oklahoman middle school, Khosrou (whom everyone calls Daniel) stands in front of a skeptical audience of classmates, telling the tales of his family’s history, stretching back years, decades, and centuries. “A patchwork story is the shame of the refugee,” Nayeri writes early in the novel. It is a powerfully layered novel that poses the questions: Who owns the truth? Who speaks it? Who believes it? A sprawling, evocative, and groundbreaking autobiographical novel told in the unforgettable and hilarious voice of a young Iranian refugee.
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