BONUS: This edition contains a When Skateboards Will Be Free discussion guide.
“The revolution is not only inevitable,... read full description
“The revolution is not only inevitable,... read full description
reviews
Apr 04, 2009
Andrew
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This memoir of a childhood in the Socialist Workers Party interested me mainly because of my own interactions in the past with radical political groups, and also because the author is a Gen-Xer like me (typing that makes me gag... I mean it somewhat jokingly) and I think all of us had at least somewhat alienated childhoods. So I was interested in reading about his, and although his experience was quite different from mine--absentee father; withdrawn, moodswinging mother; childhood spent mostly a
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Apr 15, 2009
Sue
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In this era of the memoir, this memoir stands out. Sayrafiezadeh is a splendid writer who has made sense of his past – a childhood spent in thrall to an ideology, with a mother who martyred herself to a political dream.
I would have gravitated to this book in any case, but an added detail is that Saïd’s childhood in the Socialist Worker’s Party was lived out in my own neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and he is the age of my sons. I can recognize neighborhood details, but I never even kne More...
I would have gravitated to this book in any case, but an added detail is that Saïd’s childhood in the Socialist Worker’s Party was lived out in my own neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and he is the age of my sons. I can recognize neighborhood details, but I never even kne More...
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Oct 17, 2011
Margherita Dolcevita
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Bello bello, mi è piaciuto proprio tanto.
I filoni narrativi sono due, essenzialmente. Uno è quello del folle socialismo a cui aderiscono i genitori, le riunioni coi compagni, le insane idee della madre e del padre che coinvolgono la vita del figlio, una realtà grottesca e surreale ma tristemente vera per il protagonista.
La differenza tra noi e le altre famiglie povere del quartiere era che la nostra povertà era intenzionale e autoinflitta. Non una realtà inevitabile ma una condizione perseguita More...
I filoni narrativi sono due, essenzialmente. Uno è quello del folle socialismo a cui aderiscono i genitori, le riunioni coi compagni, le insane idee della madre e del padre che coinvolgono la vita del figlio, una realtà grottesca e surreale ma tristemente vera per il protagonista.
La differenza tra noi e le altre famiglie povere del quartiere era che la nostra povertà era intenzionale e autoinflitta. Non una realtà inevitabile ma una condizione perseguita More...
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Aug 04, 2011
oriana
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I was really excited to read this book. I love learning about the struggles of anyone who grew up "other," and Saïd is "other" like crazy: half Iranian, half Jewish American, and raised a militant Socialist in 1980s Pittsburgh. Saïd's father left when he was a baby, taking his two older siblings, and leaving Saïd to be brought up by his mother, a delusional, neglectful parental figure who spent the majority of her life waiting for her husband to return, and dedicated mo More...
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Aug 30, 2010
Richard
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As a child, Said Sayrafiezadeh's mother promised him the socialist revolution was coming soon. So why pay $10.99 for that bubblegum-colored skateboard now? WHEN SKATEBOARDS WILL BE FREE is a memoir filled with the childhood frustrations of such unfulfilled promises, balanced with the pleasures of all-you-can-eat buffets at the Socialist Worker Party conventions to which Said "the little revolutionary" is dragged. Never fully understanding why and how he should be deprived off all thing
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Aug 14, 2010
Emily
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A well-written memoir about a half-Jewish, half-Iranian boy growing up in Brooklyn and Pittsburgh with unyielding Trotskyites for parents. Two aspects make this better than most memoirs. First, the author is genuinely observant and doesn't just rely on the differences between a child's perceptions and an adult's understanding to make his prose pop. For example, describing their decrepit new apartment near the river in Pittsburgh, he writes "Our neighborhood sloped down toward the water and
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Jan 31, 2010
Andy
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This is funny yet sad memoir of being raised by parents who were active members of the Socialist Worker's Party. The author's childhood was clearly secondary in priority to his parents' political activism.
The book took me back to my college days of volunteering for the George McGovern campaign. We were constantly besieged by Socialist Worker's Party volunteers who taunted us about being tools(or fools?) of the capitalist bosses. I remember seeing them Friday nights selling their papers More...
The book took me back to my college days of volunteering for the George McGovern campaign. We were constantly besieged by Socialist Worker's Party volunteers who taunted us about being tools(or fools?) of the capitalist bosses. I remember seeing them Friday nights selling their papers More...
Sep 27, 2009
Katie
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It took me a minute to get into this book. I had heard the author on Fresh Air I think, talking about being raised by communist parents. I had read the glowing reviews and yet for the first few chapters I felt a distinct lack of interest in Said Sayrafiezadeh's childhood. And then the bomb drops, one short chapter near the beginning of the book left me so deeply disturbed that I had to keep reading. Although the events of that chapter in no way shape the rest of his childhood, the mix of the
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May 09, 2009
Carolyn
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Let's start with the grapes. Sympathetic or not, most Californians who are old enough remember the 1973 United Farm Workers grape boycott. Just 4 years old and 3,000 miles away, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh knew about it too: He wanted grapes, but he knew he couldn't have them, and why.
What was different for Sayrafiezadeh was that his mother encouraged him to eat grapes -- while standing in the grocery store -- because then it was stealing. Stealing from the store's owners, a part of the corru More...
What was different for Sayrafiezadeh was that his mother encouraged him to eat grapes -- while standing in the grocery store -- because then it was stealing. Stealing from the store's owners, a part of the corru More...
Apr 21, 2009
Matt
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This was so much fun. Thanks, Mom! (for sending it to me)
Sayrafiezadeh chronicles his own life as a child and young adult with parents in the Trotskyite Socialist Workers Party. His father effectively abandoned him and his mother remained "inflamed by a political philosophy that says family is not important, home is not important, the only thing that matters in this world is the worker's revolution." Yikes.
A disclaimer: the author and I apparently went to the sa More...
Sayrafiezadeh chronicles his own life as a child and young adult with parents in the Trotskyite Socialist Workers Party. His father effectively abandoned him and his mother remained "inflamed by a political philosophy that says family is not important, home is not important, the only thing that matters in this world is the worker's revolution." Yikes.
A disclaimer: the author and I apparently went to the sa More...
Aug 15, 2009
Susan
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The memoir of a child born to an American Jewish mother and an Iranian father, both Socialists, this book had great potential that it didn't quite achieve for me. Said's father was almost absent from Said's life from the time he was nine months old, occasionally popping in or sending a note, but without much presence. His mother raised Said alone, spending her time either working or participating in political events, teaching Said that the revolution would come when he was eighteen, denying he
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Apr 27, 2009
Jackie
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Sayrafiezadeh is half Iranian (poppa's side)and half Jewish (mama's side) and was raised completely Socialist by separated but like
minded parents who both were staunch activists in the Socialist labor movement. His father even ran for the president of Iran as a Socialist(along with 175ish other folks, which is a story in and of itself). His was NOT the typical childhood, to say the least. He offers us a glimpse into a world that many of us have never seen or experienced,
offering More...
minded parents who both were staunch activists in the Socialist labor movement. His father even ran for the president of Iran as a Socialist(along with 175ish other folks, which is a story in and of itself). His was NOT the typical childhood, to say the least. He offers us a glimpse into a world that many of us have never seen or experienced,
offering More...
Apr 12, 2010
Arwen
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This is one of those books that I have recommended to at least a quarter of the people I recommend books to. On the one hand, I constantly felt that the book had not completely begun - it was still just an introduction to the real story, which would be more cohesive and in-depth. Of course, being a memoir means that the story is the real story, and perhaps Sayrafiezadeh is telling it as in-depth as it can possibly be told. On the other hand, the book is beautifully written and relates a life
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Jan 12, 2010
Colleen
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This memoir was painfully honest and suprisingly rather bleak despite the amusing title. The story of young Said's life as the child of two Socialists was leavened by humor but this reader for one wondered how any adults could so selfishly ignore the needs of their own progeny in favor of the abstract needs of the people. Neither of Said's parents appeared to be fit caretakers for this sensitive child, and his ability to survive and even thrive in that environment is a testimony to his strength
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Sep 04, 2011
Cynthia
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In general, this memoir was satisfying enough, with well written vignettes steeped in bone-dry humor. However, what is lacking is any sense of how Sayrafiezadeh's present political beliefs were shaped by his childhood. The narrative voice never changed, even as the story shifted between his five year old, twelve year old, and adult self. Some of the depictions of his parents' political activities read as cartoonish, which may make sense when viewed from the perspective of a child. But the pr
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Aug 01, 2011
Dan
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This books description caught my attention because I have always been fascinated by the dynamic in relationships were the two people hold political beliefs that are diametrically opposed. How do they function? How do those beliefs not get in the way of the relationship?
The conflict in this book is not quite that dramatic. Like his parents, little Said is a communist, but whereas his parents are the "you can't eat grapes, not even one, until Cesar Chavez and the united farm wor More...
The conflict in this book is not quite that dramatic. Like his parents, little Said is a communist, but whereas his parents are the "you can't eat grapes, not even one, until Cesar Chavez and the united farm wor More...
Sep 26, 2009
Rebecca
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I have a rule that you can only blame your parents for screwing up your life until you are 30. After that you pretty much have to take responsibility for your own special dysfunction.
In this book Said Sayrafiezadeh was able to vent long held sadness and yet did not feel like a big blame story. The reader is taken on a trip to heartbreak after heartbreak of this young boys life.
Rebecca Walker's Black and White and Jewish also takes us back to a 1970's childhood divorce s More...
In this book Said Sayrafiezadeh was able to vent long held sadness and yet did not feel like a big blame story. The reader is taken on a trip to heartbreak after heartbreak of this young boys life.
Rebecca Walker's Black and White and Jewish also takes us back to a 1970's childhood divorce s More...
Sep 04, 2011
Amy
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As I am ever curious about the lives of others and how they overcome the obstacles that life puts in front of them I was excited to start reading the autobiography about a young boy born to an Iranian father and American-Jewish mother, both of whom were staunch members of the Socialist Workers Party. Sayrafiezadeh writes with delicacy and humour to describe shocking and uncomfortable events while growing up during the 70s and 80s and whilst he talks at great length about the SWP, it is not a b
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Jan 01, 2010
Ilona
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This book was a well-written memoir of a young man whose parents were members of the Socialist Workers Party in the USA. Both in their political beliefs and in other respects his parents were "quirky". They made unconventional choices which affected their children's lives. Said Sayrafiezadeh tells his story well and you really get a feel for the characters lives. I recommend this particularly if you or any close famikly have veered off into an out-of-mainstream political group.
Apr 04, 2009
Tessa
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When I started reading this I couldn't remember why I had put it on hold or where I'd heard of it. But I eventually figured out it was because Sayrafiezadeh lives in Pittsburgh while growing up.
This would have worked better for me if it had been reworked as fiction. I feel like I could have gotten deeper into Sayrafiezadeh's experience. As it is, the story is choppy and a lot of his anger at his father shows through, in a way that made it seem like the writing of the book was done More...
This would have worked better for me if it had been reworked as fiction. I feel like I could have gotten deeper into Sayrafiezadeh's experience. As it is, the story is choppy and a lot of his anger at his father shows through, in a way that made it seem like the writing of the book was done More...
May 05, 2009
Beth
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An interesting memoir because of the author's background--Jewish mother, Iranian father, but most influenced by their lifetime committment to socialist party politics. Surprising that he is not turned off by the politics, considering the abandonment of his father, the distancing of his older brother and sister, and the single minded politics of his mother. A well written look at the modern day red diaper baby.
Nov 29, 2009
Catherine
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Not your usual memoir--almost bizarre--Said Sayrafiezadeh, the son of an Iranian-born father and an American Jew, chronicles his childhood as the son of two people convinced of their beliefs in the message of the Socialist Workers Party. I read it in one sitting--the story sucks you in like a oncoming train wreck. I went on to read an online interview because I wanted to see where his life is headed.
Apr 17, 2009
First came across because the writer of this is the nephew of Mark Harris, who wrote 'Southpaw' and 'Bang the Drum Slowly'. And then though, this just looks completely fascinating.
1- Peeks into Iran
2- about raising one's child when one has strong political beliefs
3- multi-cultural within the mix that is the US
4- ideology w/n politics, etc...
And so on. Looks fascinating!
1- Peeks into Iran
2- about raising one's child when one has strong political beliefs
3- multi-cultural within the mix that is the US
4- ideology w/n politics, etc...
And so on. Looks fascinating!
Nov 04, 2009
Linda
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A terrific example of the f-ed up childhood genre. The author grows up with parents who are committed members of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. He struggles with poverty, dogma, and sharing his parents with the party. Well written, honest, and very entertaining (especially when he draws contrasts with his adult work with yes, Martha Stewart's media company).
Aug 18, 2009
Patrick
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An outstanding take on how political (or really any social) views can affect family relationships and how one grows up. Said grows up in a socialist household, though he is estranged from his siblings and father. His father, and his father's views, continue to mold him despite the complete lack of physical contact.
Aug 01, 2011
Heather
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I was unprepared for just how good this book was going to be. I plowed through it in a little over a day and it is full of underlined passages and notes in the margins now. Sayrafiezadeh is a very good writer and his story is heartfelt and fascinating. I got really caught up in reading about the politics of the times, not only those of the SWP and our dealings with Iran, but also with those of the Civil Rights Movement and how things like desegregation and busing fit into Sayrafiezadeh’s narr
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Mar 15, 2010
CMolieri
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This book contained the worst kind of disappointment: that where the author begins a story that is clever, well written, and completely sucks you in only to let you down three quarters of the way through the book. Said's tale is that of growing up in the Socialist Worker's Party, both his parents devout champions of the cause throughout his life, but at some point, the reader starts to stumble across poorly planned segments of the story that are difficult to connect back to that which you were i
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Apr 22, 2009
Jennifer
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I found this book to be heartbreaking and very readable. A memoir about a political childhood wherein the half Iranian half Jewish son of comrades in the Socialist Workers Party deals with a radical/political upbringing and parents who shun worldly posessions. His youth is spent alone while his mother is at rallies and sofa surfing with other sympathizers.Great read.
Mar 28, 2011
Beth
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Read this guy's short story "Appetite" in The New Yorker a while ago and found it entertaining (and not at all political). Looked him up and found this book. I'm not ordinarily a fan of political memoir's but his screwed up childhood is tender and funny to read.
The way the story alternated between being seen through the eyes of a child and a more present day viewpoint shows how, just as he didn't really understand the dogma he was dragged into a following as a child, he s More...
The way the story alternated between being seen through the eyes of a child and a more present day viewpoint shows how, just as he didn't really understand the dogma he was dragged into a following as a child, he s More...
Jun 09, 2009
rebecca
rated it:
This is an open-hearted, honest and friendly memoir. The author bravely bares his soul through the story of his upbringing in a communist family in america. Humor is skillfully woven through the book, as in life, and the author captures this beautifully.
