“A compelling and intimate exploration of the complexity of a bicultural immigrant experience, To See and See Again traces three generations of an Iranian (and Iranian-American) family undergoing a century of change–from the author’s grandfather, a feudal lord with two wives; to her father, a freespirited architect who marries an American pop singer; to Bahrampour herself, who grows up balanced precariously between two cultures and comes of age watching them clash on the nightly news.” – Description from Amazon.
This is a story of a woman trying to find herself. It appears she felt as though she never fit in one mold or the other. That leads her on a quest to discover her heritage and the impact that it had on shaping her as a person. This is a story of trying to find home. It asks the question of what exactly is a home? Does it change as we enter new stages of our life or the physical world around us change? Does our perception change said home? Tara comes from a family with an American mother and an Iranian father. With that American element, this is unlike any other Iranian book that I have read. It really dives into the immigrant experience. With her family dynamics, it really shows how displacement impacts each person differently even if they are all in the same family. Before recent years, I was ignorant and didn’t think the events by world leaders had an impact on me as a person. The more that I read and the more that I grow, I have come to realize that that isn’t true. Books like these show how big cultural and historical moments affect our lives.
The structure was jumbled. I do really like how it starts with the family moving to the United States and then jumping back to what life was like before. As the book progressed that structure didn’t work and I was finding myself confused when I would get to a new section and be told information about the previous years that we did not get in previous sections.
The writing style was very descriptive. It was a lot to take in and is at a slow pace. That isn’t to say it was bad. I have never felt so immersed in Iranian culture as I did in this book. It really paints a perfect picture of the country in the times that the author was speaking of. That even translates to the author’s teenage years in 1980s Portland. This is told in a narrative style and doesn’t read like a typical memoir. We are seeing the day to day life of the author so much so that it reads like fiction. This was a good book and if you are really wanting to see what Iran and its people are like this would be a book to pick up for that.
3.25 out of 5 stars.
Izzy Reads 