simplicity

To See and See Again.

Where does a story start? Where does it end? How do you tell a story?

What I really like about this particular memoir is that Bahrampour revisits the same moment with different perspectives. For example, the author first describes her childhood recollections of revolution (and what a revolution it is too!) and later she revisits these moments from the perspective a college student. She can fill in the large gaps of her memory with a fuller picture. This adds depth to my understanding of the revolution and her experience.

But Bahrampour has a way of retelling her history, which is also Iran’s History, in a way that is neither boring nor condescending. She has the gift of easy and conversational writing. At times the reading of a few pages took me awhile to get through, not because I was not seriously interested in her story (I was) and entertained (I was) but because I could hear her talking to me. And listening to so much recollecting of one’s life is consuming work.

Eat, Pray, Love was also written in a conversational tone, but in a different manner. In Eat, Pray, Love the author seemed to be trying to entertain me. Whereas in To See and See Again the author is responding to my question about her life. Or so it felt. In Catfish and Mandala the author writes beautifully. There is so much to memorize and quote. Pham’s writing is delicious on its own, and then it has meaning. But in To See and See Again Bahrampour is less poetic and more…informative. This is an interesting way to tell a story. I’m not certain that any writer could pull off this style, but Bahrampour does it well. I feel like I am hearing her, getting to know who she is without any sort of intent (be it artistic, humorous, etc). I feel that she simply wants to tell me her story, and that is what I get. Somehow this completely succeeded for me.

The simplicity of the novel is its trademark.

(I don’t know how to blog anymore. How many different ways can I say I love a book? All the books we’ve read have taught me something I wanted to know about, sometimes in cases when I didn’t know I wanted to know. The path of identity seems to be a theme in the memoirs we’ve chosen, at least in the ones I fell so hard for. The way Bahrampour switches back and forth from being Iranian or American, or somewhere in between, is fascinating and honest. I am struck over and over again by the way she expresses her identity, when it is whole, when it is not, when it is sharing two worlds. And how is that my identity can be reflected in parts of hers? This human connection thing is so obvious. I think the narratives we’ve read in this class illustrate that, and this last one is Damn Amazing).

oh life.