Roya Hakakian's Books

Journey from the Land of No

A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran

By: Roya Hakakian

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Journey from the Land of No

A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran

By: Roya Hakakian

An emotional, evocative coming-of-age story about one deeply intelligent and perceptive girl’s attempt to find her own voice in prerevolutionary Iran “An immensely moving, extraordinarily eloquent, and passionate memoir.”—Harold Bloom Roya Hakakian was twelve years old in 1979 when the revolution swept through Tehran. The daughter of an esteemed poet, she grew up in a household that hummed with intellectual life. Family gatherings were punctuated by witty, satirical exchanges and spontaneous recitations of poetry. But the Hakakians were also part of the very small Jewish population in Iran who witnessed the iron fist of the Islamic fundamentalists increasingly tightening its grip. It is with the innocent confusion of youth that Roya describes her discovery of a swastika—“a plus sign gone awry, a dark reptile with four hungry claws”—painted on the wall near her home. As a schoolgirl she watched as friends accused of reading blasphemous books were escorted from class by Islamic Society guards, never to return. Only much later did Roya learn that she was spared a similar fate because her teacher admired her writing. Hakakian relates in the most poignant, and at times painful, ways what life was like for women after the country fell into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who had declared an insidious war against them, but we see it all through the eyes of a strong, youthful optimist who somehow came up in the world believing that she was different, knowing she was special. A wonderfully evocative story, Journey from the Land of No reveals an Iran most readers have not encountered and re-creates a time and place dominated by religious fanaticism, violence, and fear with an open heart.

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Page Count

274

Publisher

Crown

Published Date

ISBN 10

0609810308

ISBN 13

9780609810309

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

By: Roya Hakakian

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Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

By: Roya Hakakian

A New York Times Notable Book: “A rumination on the Islamic Republic’s culture of terror . . . [A] captivating narrative” (PBS). On the evening of September 17, 1992, eight leading members of the Iranian and Kurdish opposition had gathered at a little-known restaurant in Berlin when two darkly-clad men burst through the entrance. Within moments, the roar of a machine gun filled the air. Two rounds of fire and four single shots later, four of the men were dead. One of the survivors of that shooting, along with the widow of one of the victims and a handful of reporters, attorneys, and fellow exiles, began a crusade that would not only pit them against Tehran but against some of the greatest powers in Germany. When an undeterred federal prosecutor and an endlessly patient chief judge took over the case, a historic verdict followed that shook both Europe and Iran, and achieved something few could have predicted—justice. “This is a brilliant, riveting book, with all the elements of a great thriller—a horrific crime, sociopathic villains, international intrigue, personal betrayals, a noble prosecutor and an honorable judge. And it is all too real: with remarkably comprehensive reporting and brisk, smart writing, Roya Hakakian has told a great story but, more important, she has made plain the lethal immorality at the heart of Iran’s regime” —Joe Klein, Time

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Page Count

213

Publisher

Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802195091

ISBN 13

9780802195098

A Beginner's Guide to America

For the Immigrant and the Curious

By: Roya Hakakian

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A Beginner's Guide to America

For the Immigrant and the Curious

By: Roya Hakakian

A stirring, witty, and poignant glimpse into the bewildering American immigrant experience from someone who has lived it. Hakakian's "love letter to the nation that took her in [is also] a timely reminder of what millions of human beings endure when they uproot their lives to become Americans by choice" (The Boston Globe). Into the maelstrom of unprecedented contemporary debates about immigrants in the United States, this perfectly timed book gives us a portrait of what the new immigrant experience in America is really like. Written as a "guide" for the newly arrived, and providing "practical information and advice," Roya Hakakian, an immigrant herself, reveals what those who settle here love about the country, what they miss about their homes, the cruelty of some Americans, and the unceasing generosity of others. She captures the texture of life in a new place in all its complexity, laying bare both its beauty and its darkness as she discusses race, sex, love, death, consumerism, and what it is like to be from a country that is in America's crosshairs. Her tenderly perceptive and surprisingly humorous account invites us to see ourselves as we appear to others, making it possible for us to rediscover our many American gifts through the perspective of the outsider. In shattering myths and embracing painful contradictions that are unique to this place, A Beginner's Guide to America is Hakakian's candid love letter to America.

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Page Count

242

Publisher

Knopf

Published Date

ISBN 10

0525656065

ISBN 13

9780525656067

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

By: Roya Hakakian

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Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

By: Roya Hakakian

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213

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Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

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ISBN 10

0802195091

ISBN 13

9780802195098

Journey from the Land of No

A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran

By: Roya Hakakian

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Journey from the Land of No

A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran

By: Roya Hakakian

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Page Count

274

Publisher

Crown

Published Date

ISBN 10

0609810308

ISBN 13

9780609810309

A Beginner's Guide to America

For the Immigrant and the Curious

By: Roya Hakakian

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A Beginner's Guide to America

For the Immigrant and the Curious

By: Roya Hakakian

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Page Count

241

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0525565922

ISBN 13

9780525565925

Journey from the Land of No -L

By: Roya Hakakian

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Journey from the Land of No -L

By: Roya Hakakian

This lyrical coming-of-age story creates an intimate portrait of life in Tehran: the author's family and friends, her life at school, her observations of Iran's political life, and her longing to escape a sense of displacement from her home, culture, and language. High school & older.

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Publisher

Topeka Bindery

Published Date

ISBN 10

1417785330

ISBN 13

9781417785339

Book's by Roya Hakakian

Journey from the Land of No

Journey from the Land of No

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

A Beginner's Guide to America

A Beginner's Guide to America

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

Journey from the Land of No

Journey from the Land of No

A Beginner's Guide to America

A Beginner's Guide to America

Journey from the Land of No -L

Journey from the Land of No -L

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