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"With a gift for capturing the absurd in life, and a deadpan wisdom that comes from surviving a surreal childhood in the Socialist Workers Party, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh has crafted an unsentimental, funny, heartbreaking memoir. Saïd's Iranian-born father and American Jewish mother had one thing in common: their unshakable conviction that the workers' revolution was coming. Separated since their son was nine months old, they each pursued a dream of the perfect socialist society. Pinballing with his mother between makeshift Pittsburgh apartments, falling asleep at party meetings, longing for the luxuries he's taught to despise, Saïd waits for the revolution that never arrives, while his long-absent father quixotically runs as a socialist candidate for president in an Iran about to fall under the ayatollahs. Then comes the hostage crisis, and Saïd is suddenly forced to confront the combustible stew of his identity."--Publisher description.
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Previews available in: English
Showing 5 featured editions. View all 5 editions?
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1
When Skateboards Will Be Free: My Reluctant Political Childhood
2010, Penguin Books, Limited
in English
014102982X 9780141029825
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2
When skateboards will be free: a memoir
2010, Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, Dial Press Trade Paperback
in English
- Dial Press Trade paperback ed.
0385340699 9780385340694
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3
When Skateboards Will Be Free: My Reluctant Political Childhood
2009, Penguin Books, Limited
in English
0141923865 9780141923864
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4
When Skateboards Will Be Free
2009, Random House Publishing Group, Dial Press
Electronic resource
in English
0440338395 9780440338390
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5
When skateboards will be free: a memoir of a political childhood
2009, Dial Press
in English
0385340680 9780385340687
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Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes a Reader's guide: pages 295-306.
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"The revolution is not only inevitable, it is imminent. It is not only imminent, it is quite imminent. And when the time comes, my father will lead it."With a profound gift for capturing the absurd in life, and a deadpan wisdom that comes from surviving a surreal childhood in the Socialist Workers Party, Said Sayrafiezadeh has crafted an unsentimental, funny, heartbreaking memoir.Said's Iranian-born father and American Jewish mother had one thing in common: their unshakable conviction that the workers' revolution was coming. Separated since their son was nine months old, they each pursued a dream of the perfect socialist society. Pinballing with his mother between makeshift Pittsburgh apartments, falling asleep at party meetings, longing for the luxuries he's taught to despise, Said waits for the revolution that never, ever arrives. "Soon," his mother assures him, while his long-absent father quixotically runs as a socialist candidate for president in an Iran about to fall under the ayatollahs. Then comes the hostage crisis. The uproar that follows is the first time Said hears the word "Iran" in school. There he is suddenly forced to confront the combustible stew of his identity: as an American, an Iranian, a Jew, a socialist... and a middle-school kid who loves football and video games. Poised perfectly between tragedy and farce, here is a story by a brilliant young writer struggling to break away from the powerful mythologies of his upbringing and create a life--and a voice--of his own. Said Sayrafiezadeh's memoir is unforgettable.From the Hardcover edition.
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February 28, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
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