Sai d. Sayrafiezadeh Boeken

“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 remarkable ability to capture life's absurdities, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh presents a poignant and humorous memoir shaped by his surreal childhood in the Socialist Workers Party. His Iranian-born father and American Jewish mother shared a steadfast belief in an impending workers’ revolution. Separated since he was nine months old, they each chased their vision of a perfect socialist society. Saïd navigates a childhood spent bouncing between makeshift apartments in Pittsburgh, falling asleep at political meetings, and yearning for the comforts he is taught to reject, all while waiting for a revolution that never comes. His mother reassures him that it’s “soon,” while his father, absent for years, runs as a socialist presidential candidate in an Iran on the brink of upheaval. The hostage crisis marks a turning point, as Saïd encounters the word “Iran” for the first time in school, prompting him to grapple with his complex identity as an American, an Iranian, a Jew, and a middle-schooler who loves football and video games. This memoir beautifully balances tragedy and farce, showcasing a young writer's struggle to forge his own life and voice amid the powerful mythologies of his upbringing.

From Junot Díaz, Lynda Barry, Gary Shteyngart, and Kate Christensen to popular up-and-comers like Dan Kennedy, Wendy McClure, and Brock Clarke, Love Is a Four-Letter Word is a dead-on contemporary collection of true stories of seduction, heartbreak, and regret. Fearlessly revealing their shattered hearts and crushed egos; their indiscretions and indignities; their delusions, desperation, and disappointments, these talented writers capture the dark side of love in prose ranging from comic to poetic, poignant to cringe-inducing. Also featuring three cartoon/ graphic essays as a sixteen-page color insert, this anthology is perfect for anyone who's ever loved and lost.

Früher oder später begegnet jeder seinem Feind. Saïd Sayrafiezadeh erzählt von den täglichen Kämpfen um Anerkennung, Liebe und einen sinnvollen Platz auf dieser Welt. Kellner, Lehrer, Soldaten, Angestellte im Supermarkt – das ist das Personal dieser Geschichten aus einer namenlosen Stadt in den USA. Sayrafiezadeh interessiert sich für das soziale Gefüge, in dem Menschen zusammenleben, zusammenarbeiten, für die Unüberwindlichkeit der Klassen. Die Figuren, die er in seiner klaren, direkten Sprache mit ihren Sehnsüchten und ihrer Verletzlichkeit zum Leben erweckt, kommen einem sehr nah. In Geschichten voll schmerzlicher Komik eröffnet er uns einen ungewöhnlichen Einblick in den inneren Zustand Amerikas.