false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1237826126m/4312545.jpg 4312545 2 <i>“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.”<br><br></i>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, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh has crafted an unsentimental, funny, heartbreaking memoir.<br><br>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, 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 Saïd 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. <br><br>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. Saïd Sayrafiezadeh’s memoir is unforgettable. 4360301 book 24 3 2009 When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood total:109|5:21|4:38|3:39|2:8|1:3| 109 393 304 34 4 1 false false Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 09:16:39 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 18:51:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 09:53:38 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 20:38:25 -0700 2009
I would have gravitated to this book in any case, but an added det...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 20:01:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 20:01:00 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat May 09 08:35:42 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 08:36:38 -0700 2009
What was d...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 23:01:47 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 23:02:44 -0700 2009
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 say...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 08:25:16 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 16:13:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 18:47:21 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 20:16:05 -0700 2009 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 ot...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 22:26:01 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 23:47:15 -0700 2009
In this book Said Sayrafiezadeh was able to vent long held sadness and yet did not feel like a big blame...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Apr 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 08:08:10 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 14:06:49 -0700 2009
This would have worked better for me if it had been reworked as fiction. I feel like I could...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 05 10:16:14 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 10:22:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Apr 17 07:48:42 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 17 07:48:42 -0700 2009
1- Peeks into Iran
2- about raising one's child when one has strong political beliefs
3- multi-c...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 04 21:28:43 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 21:31:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 11:07:14 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 11:07:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 14:22:19 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 18:01:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 08:32:25 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 08:36:12 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 13:09:19 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 13:13:53 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Apr 10 17:03:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 17:04:58 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Sep 20 13:14:30 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 14:52:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Oct 13 06:11:11 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 06:13:15 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Apr 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 20:59:11 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 21:00:13 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4312545