Helpful Score: 1
I found this to be an exquisite and intriguing portrait of the clash of cultures, with Uzman, the Iranian rug merchant on the fulcrum, his family in Iran at one end, and two very different American women on the other. Uzman is a complex character who takes actions that seem inexplicable, but as the story unfolds, one begins to understand how they are driven by his core values that are in conflict with how he is expected to be in America. The women, too, are driven by their own conflicts, but so are most people. It is not a book to be read or listened to quickly and then put aside, but rather a thought-provoking portrayal of real people who have to face the consequences of their actions.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a wonderfully sensitive book. The plot carefully develops and one can not necessarily anticipate every turn. It is a careful description of an immigrant's adjustment over a few years to cultural differences in America, a deep longing for the woman he loves who is distancing herself, heartache for his mother who is dying far away, puzzlement over his best customer's attitudes toward him, and a completely unexpected romantic and illogical episode with an American coed. Expect to be moved by the detail of emotions, feelings, and self-examination.
