My Uncle Napoleon

By: Iraj Pezeshkzad, Dick Davis - translator/afterword

Narrated by: Moti Margolin, Dick Davis

"The existence in Persian literature of a full-scale, abundantly inventive comic novel that involves a gallery of varied and highly memorable characters, not to mention scenes of hilarious farcical mayhem, may come as a surprise to a Western audience used to associating Iran with all that is in their eyes dour, dire and dreadful." (From the Preface)

Set in a garden in Tehran in the early 1940s, where three families live under the tyranny of a paranoid patriarch, My Uncle Napoleon is a rich, comic and brilliantly on-target send-up of Iranian society. The novel is, at its core, a love story. But the young narrator's delicate and pure love for his cousin Layli is constantly jeopardized by an unforgettable cast of family members and the hilarious mayhem of their intrigues and machinations. It is also a social satire, a lampooning of the widespread Iranian belief that foreigners (particularly the British) are responsible for events that occurs in Iran. But most of all it is a very enjoyable, often side-splitting read that you wish did not have to end. First published in Iran in the early 1970s, the novel became an all-time best-seller. In 1976 it was turned into a television series and immediately captured the imagination of the whole nation-its story became a cultural reference point and its characters national icons. Dick Davis' superb English translation has not only captured the uproarious humor of the original but has also caught the delicate, underlying vibrancy of the Persian.

©1996 Mage Publishers (P)2014 Mage Publishers

you want to know Iran? this this

as an Iranian, I can confirm this book illustrates and confirms or intergenerational trauma as it relates to outside meddling. it's easier to blame than think. how unfortunate.
this book is an absolute masterpiece. I've never laughed so much with an audiobook

only drawback: the translation for most common phrases is horrible. you'll get the point though. I don't have a better suggestion though.

Sooooo great!

Translated with incredible accuracy and narrated so closely to the original Persian television shows characters’ and their over the top personalities that it’s hard to not imagine them speaking instead of Moti Margolin. I loved every minute of this and can’t recommend it enough.

Oddly Compelling To The End

As a person embedded in Midwest U.S. culture & personalities I found these characters intriguing. It seemed natural that the Protagonist’s paramour was not fleshed out, as she was a very young teen & as his understanding of women seemed to be formed by his elder male relatives. “I swear upon my Father’s Soul…”that the more embedded some human behaviors become, the funnier.

An Iran we never knew

This is a rather dated, but still charmingly funny farce that takes place in Iran in the 1940's. The petty doings of a minor aristocracy is narrated by the least beloved, adolescent nephew of Dear Uncle Napoleon, the wildly self aggrandizing patriarch of the family. The narrator has fallen hopelessly in love with the daughter of "Dear Uncle".
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, even though the glimpse into the people and society of the time was compared by someone as like "I Love Lucy" in its accuracy. But it is a farce and as such is completely understandable and interesting. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading off the beaten track.

Hilarious!!!

This is one of the funniest, most entertaining books I have read. I'm about 2/3 of the way through, and I chuckle whenever I think of it. Who knew that 1940s Iran could be so funny!

The other thing about the book, which is rather amazing, is that the action all takes place in a family compound, and yet it has a very expansive feeling. taking in a great variety of feelings and events.

The narrator, in the book, is a teenage boy about 13 or 14. The audio narrator does a perfect job of conveying the voice of a lad this age, as well as the voices of the other characters.

Between the text and the narration, this is a comic masterpiece.

Very funny comic novel

A funny and engaging window into Iranian culture. It is a delight to listen to

Enjoyable

Very funny. The slow motion of the story will not be to everyone's taste but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters I got to know in this novel will stay with me for a long time.

Much more fun in audio

I found the story slow to get into, but the narrator did such a phenomenal job bringing each of the characters to life that it became a joy the further in I went. The humor became richer as the story developed.

A Special Story and Fun Read

I decided to listen to this book on a whim. At first I wasn't sure I would be able to get into it but after a while it became just downright fun. A good story for those of us who think of Iran as a scary place. Loved the performer.

A Poor Performance

I was looking forward to reading My Uncle Napoleon as I read reviews about it, yet I was met with disappointment. As I began listening I was the story was fine, but I was very put off by the forced voices of the performer (this may have been partly do in the translator's efforts to localize the language of the book). As I kept reading I waited for something more meaningful, yet was met with continual farce. There is nothing wrong with farce, but when that is all it is for 20+ hours it gets very repetitive and stale. This is not to say there is nothing admirable about this work, but that I am sure the TV adaptation or a reading in original Persian might give it more meaningful texture than it can posses in this form. The last few chapters I enjoyed as they broke up the tedium; the narrator's dream, Asadollah Mirza's background, the outcome of the narrator's relationship with Layli, and the epilogue I enjoyed and felt had some meaning in them. The author's afterward was also helpful and the elements of satire are certainly apparent throughout. Overall however a poor performance and repetitive plot riddled with cliches ruined the experience for me.