My Uncle Napoleon

Rating:
Summary: My Bible
Review: A beautiful story and MOVIE...I've read it several hundered times and watched the film since I was 10...characters in this book each have thier own personality and ideas, they are facing many problems which are funny and is/was faced by real people and they are dealing with a very REAL problem in society....If you can understand the persian language I strongly recommend you to watch the movie (which is about 9 or 10 hours) or read the book in persian...although the english version is BEAUTIFUL.AS... it is also available in other languages.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever written
Review: Americans have become so accustomed to seeing televised images of dour Ayatollahs and grim-faced Iranian demonstrators shouting "Death to the Great Satan" that we have forgotten that Iran is also the land of Omar Khayyam. Pezeshkzad and his characters have more in common with the 12th century poet than the religious revolutionaries who overthrew the Shah would like, and the readers will give thanks with laughter. Early in World War II, the unnamed 15-year-old narrator becomes infatuated with his first cousin Layli, the daughter of the narrator's uncle, derisively nicknamed Napoleon for constantly voicing admiration for the French general. At a family gathering, the narrator's father vents annoyance with Uncle Napoleon's unending inflation of his military record (Uncle Napoleon's four-man gendarmerie squad over the years had been transformed into dozens of army battalions thwarting the plans of British imperialism). For his father's offense, the narrator is banned from seeing his beloved Layli, who Uncle Napoleon betrothes to the narrator's horse-faced cousin Puri. The narrator turns to his cousin Asadollah, a bon vivant and womanizer extraordinaire, for advice in stopping the wedding and winning Layli. The action builds to a climax when the British occupy Tehran. The results . . . well, I won't give it away. But if you like laugh-out-loud farce mixed with sharp-eyed satire, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It belongs on a very short list of comic masterpieces of world literature

Rating:
Summary: A Satire about Iranian life
Review: I watched the TV series based on this book on Iranian TV when i was 3 or 4 years old. As another reviewer mentioned, this book and the TV show are part of Iranian culture now. Iranians usually take themselves very serious, but this book dares to make fun of the Iranian life. After the revolution, it was banned by the Islamic Republic. I even heard that one of the actors who played in the movie went to jail after the revolution because of a scene when his character makes fun of Islam! Ayatollah Khomeini and his entourage, who unfortunately are still ruling in Iran, had a very limited set of mind and they didn't understand what comedy means! But people still had the show on Video tape and and watched it. It was still great. It's a true Iranian classic!

Rating:
Summary: A Satire about Iranian life
Review: I watched the TV series based on this book on Iranian TV when i was 3 or 4 years old. As another reviewer mentioned, this book and the TV show are part of Iranian culture now. Iranians usually take themselves very serious, but this book dares to make fun of the Iranian life. After the revolution, it was banned by the Islamic Republic. I even heard that one of the actors who played in the movie went to jail after the revolution because of a scene when his character makes fun of Islam! Ayatollah Khomeini and his entourage, who unfortunately are still ruling in Iran, had a very limited set of mind and they didn't understand what comedy means! But people still had the show on Video tape and and watched it. It was still great. It's a true Iranian classic!

Rating:
Summary: one of my all-time favorites
Review: I've read that book countless of times when I was a teenager, it still remains one of my absolute favorites up to the point that I can recite the plot to minute detail. It is one of these beautiful yet not sappy stories that transcends any cultural or national limits, grips your heart and does not let go. Odd as it is, I initially read a translation from Russian in Lithuania. Now, however, that I know quite a few Iranians quite well, I have to say that the book gives an unparalleled insight into Persian mentality.

Rating:
Summary: An Iranian Classic Finally Translated Brilliantly in English
Review: My Uncle Napoleon (aka: Daei Jon Napelon) is one of the great Iranian masterpieces. Although the story is sure to inform the non-Iranian reader about WWII era Iran, its true topic is one that anyone can relate to - true love. This book will remind you what it was like to have a crush on someone that was unavailable. Much like Charles Shulz's Charlie Brown and the "Little Red Haired Girl," our novel's protagonist has fallen madly in love with someone that is inaccessible to him. Meanwhile, interfamily politics keep rocking the young man's already unstable boat. What I like most about this book is how heart wrenching emotions and laugh out loud comedy go hand in hand, much like in real life. It is this book's realism that is its greatest asset, everything from the characters to the emotions within this book are a true reflection of real life. Dick Davis has done a magnificent job translating this novel, all of the characters' original dialogue and various ethnic colloquialisms remain intact. As a result this book is a fantastic insight into Iran for the non-Iranian reader. Not to mention that you are sure to win many Brownie points with your Iranian friends/colleagues if they find out that you have read this book. This is because My Uncle Napoleon is a part of Iranian culture that is very personal to most Iranians. It was made into a famous television miniseries in the seventies (alas it is still left untranslated) that to this day is one of the most popular shows in Iranian history. Most Iranians have a worn out set of VHS tapes somewhere in their house that attest to this. So please hesitate no more, and order this wonderful book. I'm sure that you will treasure it.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Delightful
Review: My Uncle Napoleon is a hilarious examination of a part of Iranian society in the 1940's. The character development is the strongest aspect of the book and the situational comedy is also very good. I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces; these two novels share many qualities.

My Uncle Napoleon gives a portrayal of Iran that is very different from what is provided by the mainstream press. While the aristocratic characters belong to a place and time that is long gone, the mannerisms and character types satirized in the book are still present to some degree in many Iranians.

Read this book if you want a good laugh or a glimpse of Iranian culture you could not otherwise get.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Delightful
Review: My Uncle Napoleon is a hilarious examination of a part of Iranian society in the 1940's. The character development is the strongest aspect of the book and the situational comedy is also very good. I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces; these two novels share many qualities.

My Uncle Napoleon gives a portrayal of Iran that is very different from what is provided by the mainstream press. While the aristocratic characters belong to a place and time that is long gone, the mannerisms and character types satirized in the book are still present to some degree in many Iranians.

Read this book if you want a good laugh or a glimpse of Iranian culture you could not otherwise get.

Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece
Review: This is a halarious book. While it's so engaging and fun that you can sometimes laugh outloud, it touches upon many serious aspects of the Iranian society. Dick Davis has done a fantastic job of translating it and the foreign reader benefits from reading the introductory chapter at the beginning of the book and the glossary of terms at the end. It's so well done that the unfamiliar reader with the Iranian culture may only enjoy the story and the sense of humour that exists throughout all of hte book, while the more adept reader in Iranian culture will be able to relate to the cultural references. If you are looking for a good novel, regardless of your particular style and knowledge of Iran, give this book a try. You will NOT be disappointed, guaranteed.