Porochista Khakpour is an Iranian-American novelist, and Sons and Other Flammable Objects, which came out in 2007, is her debut novel. The novel presents a coming-of-age tale centered on Xerxes Adam, an Iranian-born teenager who fled to the United States with his parents during the Iranian Revolution. As Xerxes grows up in his family’s cramped apartment in Pasadena, California, he struggles to cut ties with his Iranian heritage. He rebels against his tyrannical father, Darius, who bemoans the family’s exile from Iran and complains about American life. Meanwhile, Xerxes’s mother, Lala, strives to assimilate. Once Xerxes comes of age he leaves California and moves to New York City. But even there he cannot escape his Iranian past. On September 11, 2001, as he watches the towers of the World Trade Center collapse from the roof of his apartment, he meets a half-Iranian woman who will become his first love. Critics largely praised Khakpour’s debut novel, celebrating its nuanced characterization, sharp humor, and acute cultural observations. Several critics also favorably compared Sons and Other Flammable Objects to Zadie Smith’s 2000 novel White Teeth, which showcased a similarly masterful blend of comic and tragic elements.

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Sons and Other Flammable Objects: A Novel

 
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