Solacers An Iranian Oliver Twist Story A Memoir eBook Arion Golmakani
Download As PDF : Solacers An Iranian Oliver Twist Story A Memoir eBook Arion Golmakani 
Best Nonfiction Finalist, Stanford University Libraries, William Saroyan International Prize.
Solacers tells the touching story of a boy's search for family life and safety following the divorce of his parents in Iran during the 1960’s. The first child of a heartless father and a discarded mother is left to fend for himself on the streets of Mashhad, seeking food and shelter wherever he can.
His lonely early years are an unbelievable tale of cruelty and betrayal on the part of nearly everyone who might be expected to help, save for one aunt who does her best to keep him from starving. But living a harsh and solitary existence has one advantage for this little boy other than forcing him to be self-reliant, no one attempts to indoctrinate him on Iranian society's archaic cultural values and religious beliefs. And so he never accepts his wretched state as fate, choosing instead to dream big dreams about getting an education, having his own family, and starting a new life – possibly in the faraway land called America. He makes a plan and by the age of 17 he boards a plane to the land of possibilities, where his dreams eventually also take flight.
One of "30 Moving memoirs every student should read." – OnlineCollege
"He was neither an orphan, nor a street kid but life dealt him such a hand that now, those who hear the story of his childhood in Iran, consider him an Oliver Twist in the streets of Mashhad. His childhood could be
summarized in two words Hungry and Forlorn.” –BBC
"If you devoured “The Glass Castle,” vividly remember “Angela's Ashes,” and were fascinated by “Destined to Witness,” if you loved the colorful descriptions, the oriental storytelling and the ornate language of Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner,” you will definitely get your money’s worth reading “Solacers,” by the American author Arion Golmakani." – Joke Brocker, Westfälische Nachrichten
“Congratulation on writing such a first class book.” – Dr. Ehsan Yarshater, Author of Encyclopedia Iranica, founder and director of The Center for Iranian Studies and Emeritus Professor of Iranian Studies at Colombia University.
"A story of hope, determination, and forgiveness, Solacers is a remarkable tale of resilience and optimism, with lessons for us all. Golmakani gives voice to children everywhere who long for nurturing and hunger for security." – Hans J. Massaquoi, retired managing editor of Ebony Magazine and the author of best-selling book, Destined to Witness Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany.
"I confess, when I read the publisher's blurb about your book online, my expectations were low. I feared it would be another "escape from Iran" narrative, in which Muslims (or people "from there") featured as the enemies of reason and civilization. There are so many such Orientalist tales in circulation, and they feed into a politics of fear which I find very dangerous. How wonderful to be surprised by a story that captured the people you encountered in all their humanity" – Eva Sajoo- Research Associate- Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
“Sometimes when life became too overwhelming for my poor young mother, out of frustration and despair she would say; ‘If I only didn’t have you, I would have surely found a suitor to marry me by now.’ I was three then. After
she remarried and eventually left town, and I became responsible for myself, and when life got too overwhelming for me, I often pondered the same thought; ‘If I only didn’t have me.’” – The author.
Solacers An Iranian Oliver Twist Story A Memoir eBook Arion Golmakani
In 1960s staunchly patriarchal Iran, there is only one thing worse than having a dead father, having an alive father who refuses to support you. At the tender age of 5, after his mother remarries and gives birth to his stepfather's first child, young Alireza is expelled from his mother's home and given over to an abusive father who does not want him, for the simple reason that his father refuses to pay Child Support. What follows are 12 years of bouncing between foster families and mostly unsympathetic relatives with intermittent periods spent wandering city streets and surviving by wit alone. Again and again he ran back to the only home he knew and wanted to find himself unwelcome and sent away back to whatever sordid fate his father's actions have caused. Battered, bruised, injured, lonely, starving, etc. It does not matter. Everyone looks at him with disgust or pity, but no one is willing to bare his father's burden and so often unwashed and on the brink of starvation, Alireza wanders about,crisscrossing his motherland, on an endless quest for welcoming open arms and a brighter tomorrow. Set against an authentic and vivid portrait of 1960s&1970s pre-revolutionary Iran, Solacers is a hauntingly beautiful story to read and remember.Product details
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Solacers An Iranian Oliver Twist Story A Memoir eBook Arion Golmakani Reviews
Couldn't put the book down. Read and cried all night. Also gave me more insight into Persian culture. The comment about Persians loving to give advice really resonated with me, since my husband gives advice daily. I hope to read other books by this author. Maybe more stories from his childhood. Alireza could have easily fallen into a deep depression. Instead he continues to believe in hope and strives to better his life. That says a great deal about his strength of character and resolve.
This sad tale of a little boy's abandonment at an early age kept my interest throughout. How could those who should have been nurturing and caring for this small child forget their obligations? I felt his mother in particular was very wanting. She revealed herself to be a weak willed woman who regarded her second marriage to be more important than protecting her son. His step-father Mansoor Aqa, was no better. He complained constantly about the expense of keeping his step-son Alireza and wiped his hands of all responsibility. Mansoor Aqa thought his natural father should be responsible for the child, but how could he abandon all compassion when the father failed to do his duty? Cast adrift so young, Alireza was defenceless to cope. In his desperate plight, he depended upon a few kind humans for solace. Ill treated, beaten. starved and sleeping rough, it is a miracle he survived. He was rejected and beaten by his natural father, but his will to survive surmounted all odds even though there were few who felt pity for his plight. Alireza even raided garbage bins for bread to eat, but mostly had to go hungry. It was a real rags to riches story with him finally being accepted into America as a migrant. He certainly deserved a happy ending The book of a little boy's suffering and survival is well written and interesting and told without seeking sentimentality. The conditions for children in Iraq where so many are expected to work at an early age are so different from Western countries. .It reminded me how children were treated in Victorian times. Lets hope attitudes have changed for the better in Iraq today. I think most people will find this book shocking and sad but also inspiring, and one you will remember for a long time.
I was not too keen to read this book thinking it would be just too sad. I read a free sample and was absorbed into the story.
I loved the book, I am so grateful Arion shared his unbelievable story.
Yes it is sad but it awakens many feelings and thoughts of what life must be like as a small boy, abandoned by his parents.
His utter determination to rise above his tragic circumstances, to make his life worthwhile and to mend his broken soul with no bitterness is remarkable.
SUCH a gentle beautiful book, full of lessons to be a better global person especially in light of the Syrian refugee tragedy.
In 1960s staunchly patriarchal Iran, there is only one thing worse than having a dead father, having an alive father who refuses to support you. At the tender age of 5, after his mother remarries and gives birth to his stepfather's first child, young Alireza is expelled from his mother's home and given over to an abusive father who does not want him, for the simple reason that his father refuses to pay Child Support. What follows are 12 years of bouncing between foster families and mostly unsympathetic relatives with intermittent periods spent wandering city streets and surviving by wit alone. Again and again he ran back to the only home he knew and wanted to find himself unwelcome and sent away back to whatever sordid fate his father's actions have caused. Battered, bruised, injured, lonely, starving, etc. It does not matter. Everyone looks at him with disgust or pity, but no one is willing to bare his father's burden and so often unwashed and on the brink of starvation, Alireza wanders about,crisscrossing his motherland, on an endless quest for welcoming open arms and a brighter tomorrow. Set against an authentic and vivid portrait of 1960s&1970s pre-revolutionary Iran, Solacers is a hauntingly beautiful story to read and remember.
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