Contemporary Authors

• The Authentics ( novel) Balzer + Bray (New York, NY), 2017

1. The Authentics LCCN 2016963490 Type of material Book Personal name Nazemian, Abdi, author. Main title The Authentics / Abdi Nazemian. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2017] ©2017 Description 282 pages ; 22 cm ISBN 9780062486462 (hardcover) 0062486462 (hardcover) CALL NUMBER PZ7.1.N378 Au 2017 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms

• The Walk-In Closet - 2014 Curtis Brown Digital, New York

• Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Closet-Abdi-Nazemian/dp/0615988687/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1521928152&sr=1-1&keywords=Nazemian%2C+Abdi

  Editorial Reviews
  About the Author
  Abdi Nazemian is the screenwriter of The Quiet, Celeste in the City, Beautiful Girl, and the short film Revolution, which he also directed. He is an alumnus of the Sundance Writer’s Lab, a mentor at the Outfest Screenwriter’s Lab, and has taught screenwriting at UCLA Extension. He lives in Los Angeles with his two children, and his dog Hedy Lamarr. The Walk-In Closet is his first novel.

• She Knows - http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1040397/interview-abdi-nazemian-the-walk-in-closet

  INTERVIEW: Abdi Nazemian's The Walk-In Closet takes us into the lives of the Iranian-American elite
  Jul 14, 2014
  Kristine Cannon
  by Kristine Cannon

  Step into the world of an Iranian-American gay man in Abdi Nazemian's The Walk-In Closet Image: Amazon Print
  Step into the world of an Iranian-American gay man in Abdi Nazemian's The Walk-In Closet
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  Hilarious, heartbreaking and edgy, with a shocking twist, Abdi Nazemian's fiction debut, The Walk-In Closet, provides a glimpse into the lives of the Iranian-American elite. We asked the screenwriter of The Quiet, Celeste in the City, Beautiful Girl and the short film Revolution what sparked the inspiration behind his characters.
  Step into the world of an Iranian-American gay man in Abdi Nazemian's The Walk-In ClosetSheKnows: What was your biggest inspiration while writing The Walk-In Closet?
  Abdi Nazemian: I was inspired by all the novels I read that lovingly brought cultural communities to life, like Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake and Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. And while I found many phenomenal books about the Iranian experience (especially Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, which is an awe-inspiring work in print and on film), I didn't see anything representing my experience as an Iranian-American gay man. I really wanted to tell the story of the intersection of these two identities, and oddly enough, Kara, a straight white female, became my entry point into the story.

  SK: Why did you choose to write your book from a female perspective?
  AN: With very few exceptions, every story I have told has come from a female perspective. My therapist may have a better answer, but perhaps it has something to do with growing up gay in a heterosexual world. As a child, my points of identification in books, films and music were always women. I still prefer reading books about women, seeing films about women and hearing female singers, so I suppose it's natural that when it comes time for me to create my own stories, I enter them from a female perspective.

  SK: How did you master the female voice for the book? What resources/research did you do?
  AN: The majority of my friends are women, so luckily I have a wealth of resources to draw from on a daily basis. This novel deals specifically with the deep friendship between a straight woman and a gay man, and part of digging into this relationship was asking myself what the similarities and differences between the two characters are, especially when it comes to dating and sex. I asked myself whether the lead character, Kara, could have sex like a gay man. Researching this included chats with friends, as well as tours of online dating and hookup sites. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that Kara cannot have sex like a gay man, but you can read the book to see her trying.

  SK: What was the biggest challenge you faced writing in a female voice?
  AN: The biggest challenge in creating Kara's voice had less to do with her being female, and more to do with her being an outsider in the Persian culture she is writing about. I was born in Iran, and grew up entrenched in my own culture, so it was a challenge to write from the perspective of someone experiencing the culture from the outside. This was so much fun, though. Kara allowed me to rediscover my own culture, and led me to appreciate its sounds, tastes and traditions anew.

  SK: What is your favorite scene in your novel?
  AN: I don't know that I can pick a favorite, but I still get a kick out of the scene where Kara finds a letter in her freezer that had been written years earlier by her ex. Maybe it's because this exact incident happened to me, and I always thought there was something depressingly poetic about a breakup letter sitting in a freezer for years.

  SK: If you could cowrite a book with any author, who would it be?
  AN: Oscar Wilde. But let's be honest, I'd make him write the whole book and take half the credit.

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• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdi_Nazemian

  Abdi Nazemian
  Born 1976
  Iran
  Occupation novelist, screenwriter
  Language English
  Nationality American
  Notable works The Walk-In Closet
  Notable awards Lambda Literary Award for Debut Fiction (2015)
  Years active 2000s-present
  Abdi Nazemian is an Iranian-American author, screenwriter, and producer whose debut novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for Debut Fiction at the 27th Lambda Literary Awards in 2015.[1] His debut young adult novel, The Authentics, was released on August 8, 2017 by Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins.[2]

  Nazemian has also worked as a screenwriter,[3] including the films Menendez: Blood Brothers, Beautiful Girl, Celeste in the City and The Quiet. As head of development for Water's End Productions, Nazemian has served as an executive producer or associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me By Your Name, It Happened In L.A., The Price, and The House of Tomorrow.

• Abdi Nazemian - http://abdaddy.com/about/

  Abdi Nazemian spent his childhood in a series of exciting locations (Tehran, Paris, Toronto, New York), but could usually be found in his bedroom watching old movies and reading. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his two children and his fiancé.

  Abdi has written four produced films: MENENDEZ: BLOOD BROTHERS (Lifetime, 2017), THE QUIET (Sony Pictures Classics, 2006), CELESTE IN THE CITY (ABC Family, 2004), and BEAUTIFUL GIRL (ABC FAMILY, 2003). He also wrote, directed and produced the short film REVOLUTION (2012). He is proud to say that his words have been spoken by the likes of Carmela Soprano, The Nanny, and The Girl With The Most Cake.

  Abdi’s first novel, THE WALK-IN CLOSET, was released in 2015 by Curtis Brown Unlimited, and was awarded Best Debut at the Lambda Literary Awards. His debut young adult novel, THE AUTHENTICS, is set for release by Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins on August 8, 2017.

  As Head of Development for Water’s End Productions, Abdi has been an executive producer or associate producer on numerous films, including CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, IT HAPPENED IN L.A., THE PRICE, THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW, and LITTLE WOODS.

  Abdi has been interviewed by HuffPost Live and Fox News, and has written for numerous websites, including The Advocate and W.

  Abdi is not the inspiration for Madonna’s children’s book “The Adventures of Abdi,” though he will forever insist that he is.

• Rich In Color - http://richincolor.com/2017/08/interview-with-abdi-nazemian/

  INTERVIEW WITH ABDI NAZEMIAN
  Posted on 22 August, 2017 by Crystal
  Today we welcome Abdi Nazemian to the blog. We’re excited to learn more about his new novel The Authentics, which was released earlier this month.

  Summary: The Authentics is a fresh, funny, and insightful novel about culture, love, and family—the kind we are born into and the ones we create.

  Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real.

  But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer.

  With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over-the-top sweet sixteen party, and a romance that should be totally off limits, Daria doesn’t have time for this identity crisis. As everything in her life is spinning out of control—can she figure out how to stay true to herself?

  How did you find your way to this story of family and identity?

  I started my career as a screenwriter, and I still work in film and television. I love that medium, but one of the unfortunate realities of the business is that getting movies about Iranian characters made is extremely difficult. I’ve tried many times to write stories that explore my culture for the screen, and inevitably the conversation turns to the lack of bankable stars that could be cast in the roles. Take a look at some of the highest-profile movies about Iranians that Hollywood has made for a peek into this problem. Gael Garcia Bernal and Alfred Molina are Hollywood’s version of Iranians. Jake Gyllenhaal is their Prince of Persia. The argument for these decisions is that there are no Iranian stars, but how can there be if no one gives Iranian actors a chance? I’ve always loved books, and at some point in my screenwriting career, I had this epiphany that in the literary world, no one could tell me they needed a celebrity to publish my book. Then I discovered that writing novels was also a far more personal journey than screenwriting, and that liberated me to write stories that explored issues of family and identity that were (and still are) closest to me. For this particular story, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing that helped me find my way, but I think the biggest inspiration was my own children, who were born with the help of an incredible surrogate, and who are being raised in a very modern, very multicultural family. They were babies when this book began to take shape, but I projected forward to the kinds of questions they might have, and I began to write a fictional story inspired by those questions. And then, luckily, Daria took on a life of her own. She had a lot to say. And for the record, I have no secrets from my own children.

  What did you like most about Daria?

  I love so much about Daria, but perhaps what I love most is her passion. That passion is partly inspired by myself as an older teen (I was very outspoken about my views on right and wrong), but mostly inspired by many young people I know who are devoted to speaking out for what they believe in. Daria’s pride in her culture, her commitment to her friends, her patience and empathy for her family, are all offshoots of that passion. She is a deeply moral person, and wants to live a life of truth. Sometimes circumstances make that difficult, and that’s what the book explores, but Daria never strays far from her core desire to be honest and make moral decisions. I love that about her. Also, I love her capacity for forgiveness.

  What forms of media were you most interested in when you were a teen? What kinds of stories got your attention?

  Before my teen years, I was a huge reader (a lot of Ramona books, endless readings of Charlotte’s Web and an insatiable obsession with Archie Comics). By the time I became a teenager, I developed a fascination with Old Hollywood. I watched old movies voraciously, everything from film noir to musicals to silent film. Those films transported me to a fantasy version of the world, which was very appealing to me as a kid who usually wanted to crawl out of his dark, gay skin. I read a lot back then, though YA wasn’t the thriving world it is now, and there were few diverse reads to be found. My favorite book as a teen was Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. I worshipped it. And in my later teen years, I discovered James Baldwin, who remains my favorite author. His writing is ridiculously good, and perhaps sadly, more relevant than ever. If we all read his words and studied them, we’d probably live in a much more beautiful world.

  Though this is your debut YA novel, you’re not new to writing. Did writing The Authentics have any unique challenges?

  It absolutely did. First and foremost, this was my first young adult novel, and I love YA, so I wanted to enter this world with a story that would have an impact and feel honest. Also, this is a far more personal piece of writing than most of my screenwriting work. This is a chance for me to represent the people I love most: Iranian-American characters, LGBTQ people of color, young people questioning their identity, and struggling with how to define themselves in a world obsessed with labels. I am painfully aware of how rare depictions of minorities are in our stories, and so I felt an added responsibility here to get it right, and to make sure that all my love for these characters came through loud and clear.

  Being authentic is obviously a focus in this story. What does it mean to you to be authentic? How does that look in everyday life?

  The word “authentic” is thrown around so often these days that it starts to lose any real meaning. Sometimes it’s a badge of honor (that’s how Daria and her friends use it), and sometimes it is hurled as an accusation toward anyone or anything we think is false. I wanted to explore this subject matter because I feel passionately that there is more than one way to be authentic. To me, being authentic only means being true to oneself, and that looks different for every human being. That might be why the relationship between Daria and her ex-best-friend Heidi (who Daria calls a “Nose Job”) is one of my favorites in the book. Daria considers Heidi inauthentic for focusing so much on her appearance, while Heidi feels that she is authentic because she is projecting the person she wants to be. To me, both characters are authentic in their own way, and their journey is to see authenticity in someone who is different from them. I recently read this quote from one of my favorite singers, Lana Del Rey, who is constantly accused of being inauthentic, and she said a lot of smart things on the subject: “Of course. I’m always being myself. They don’t know what authentic is. If you think of all the music that came out until 2013, it was super straight and shiny. If that’s authentic to you, this is going to look like the opposite. I think that shit is stylized. Just because I do my hair big does not mean I’m a product. If anything, I’m doing my own hair.”

  I just found and read Madonna’s picture book The Adventures of Abdi at my local library. Are you certain there’s no connection to you?

  There are few things I want more in the world than to be connected to Madonna. I fell in love with her when her very first video was released, and made my parents take me to The Virgin Tour despite being way too young for it. Not long after that, I converted a room in our home into “The Madonna Room” (no, this is not a joke). You can imagine my extreme excitement when I saw that Madonna had released a book about the adventures of a boy named Abdi, who does look a little like me. Sadly, I have no proof that the character is connected to me, though I can confirm I knew some people who worked with Madonna at the time, and that she signed an autograph to me well before the book was released, so perhaps my name seeped into her subconscious somehow. A boy can hope.

  What’s up next for you in writing? Are we likely to see more YA books from you?

  I write both screenplays and novels. In my screenwriting life, I am currently adapting a phenomenal documentary called “Out of Iraq” into a narrative feature. It’s the story of two Iraqi men who fall in love against the backdrop of the Iraq War, and their struggle to be reunited when one moves to the United States and the other gets stuck in the bureaucracy of the immigration system. It’s an honor to adapt it. In my life as an author, I am committed to continuing to write young adult fiction. Writing “The Authentics” was so gratifying, and I have more stories to tell in this space. I’m about halfway done with my next book, so I shouldn’t say too much about it, but I can say that it is probably the most personal writing I’ve ever done, and that it tells the story of a love triangle between three teens who get caught up in the world of AIDS activism in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

  Is there anything you would like to tell our readers that I didn’t ask?

  I’d like to say thank you to the young adult reading community for demanding diverse reads from publishers. Reading young adult fiction gives me so much hope for our future. I believe storytelling is our greatest tool for creating empathy, and seeing the way young people are demanding and consuming literature about characters who don’t look or think like them is so exciting to me. It’s easy to be pessimistic about the world, and seeing a book like The Hate U Give on the bestseller list makes me optimistic. Discovering there is a whole community of Iranian YA authors makes me optimistic. Reading YA books about cultures and experiences that were foreign to me gives me hope. And that’s all the result of readers creating demand for these stories. So, I’d like to just say thanks, and keep seeking out stories you may not think are for you.

  Abdi Nazemian spent his childhood in a series of glamorous locations (Tehran, Paris, Toronto, New York), but could usually be found in his bedroom watching old movies and reading. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his two children and his fiancé.

  Abdi has written four produced films: MENENDEZ: BLOOD BROTHERS (Lifetime, 2017), THE QUIET (Sony Pictures Classics, 2006), CELESTE IN THE CITY (ABC Family, 2004), and BEAUTIFUL GIRL (ABC FAMILY, 2003). He also wrote, directed and produced the short film REVOLUTION (2012). He is proud to say his words have been spoken by the likes of Carmela Soprano, The Nanny, and The Girl With The Most Cake.

  Abdi’s first novel, THE WALK-IN CLOSET, was released in 2015 by Curtis Brown Unlimited, and was awarded Best Debut at the Lambda Literary Awards. His debut young adult novel, THE AUTHENTICS, was released on August 8, 2017 by Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins.

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Print Marked Items
Nazemian, Abdi. The Authentics
Lisa A. Hazlett
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.4 (Oct. 2017): p62.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
Nazemian, Abdi. The Authentics. Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, August 2017. 288p. $17.99. 978-0-06-
248646-2.
4Q * 3P * M * J
Daria is deeply proud of her Iranian American heritage, and dubs her closely-knit group of friends "the
Authentics," as they value individuality and shun the myriad of status-seeking, social-climbing impulses
embraced by their wealthy Beverly Hills friends and families. This attitude continually puts her at odds with
her perfectly posh mother, especially as her lavish sweet sixteen party is being planned (rite of passage is
receiving her first Chanel purse). Worse, Daria's DNA test for a school heritage assignment reveals that she
is adopted. Suddenly, everything she once believed is gone, replaced by the frightening question of how to
remain true to herself without knowing her biological past? She quickly locates and arranges to meet birth
mom, who proves to be welcoming and warm, bringing resolution to Daria's fears.
Likeable Daria narrates; her sharp observations regarding the wealthy's attempts to outdo one another are
wickedly funny and unsettling. The diverse cast of characters includes Daria's gay brother and his husband
as well as Daria's Mexican crush, and the absolute acceptance with which everyone is treated highlights the
many layers of Iranian American culture. The many lengthy descriptions of Daria's angst and increasingly
rebellious behaviors after locating her birth mother, while enjoyable, feel contrived and unfinished,
detracting from the more important themes and messages of the novel. Daria's meeting with her birth
mother emphasizes similarities over differences among people, and her heritage and individuality are
enriched rather than changed. Nazemian's novel is surprisingly powerful and will appeal to any reader
searching for identity and belonging, particularly those whose lives include two different cultures. --Lisa A.
Hazlett.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hazlett, Lisa A. "Nazemian, Abdi. The Authentics." Voice of Youth Advocates, Oct. 2017, p. 62. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A511785038/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4a2c6579. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A511785038
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Nazemian, Abdi: THE AUTHENTICS
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Nazemian, Abdi THE AUTHENTICS Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (Children's Fiction) $17.99 8, 8 ISBN:
978-0-06-248646-2
Fifteen-year-old Daria is determined to fight against her mother's party-planning for the extravagant Sweet
16 she doesn't want, but the battle she is not prepared for comes when she discovers family secrets that turn
her world upside down. Daria is proud of her Iranian culture but wants no part of the posh Beverly Hills
Persian community. She finds solace with the Authentics, her small, diverse group of friends who have
proven to her that they are real, and she nurses resentment toward the Nose Jobs, a group of pretentious
Persian princesses led by her former best friend, Heidi. When Daria begins researching her family history
for a school project, she makes some unexpected discoveries that challenge her senses of herself and her
family. She loses trust in her parents and turns to her friends, but even they fall short of her standards of
complete honesty. Having fallen for a Mexican guy her parents would never approve of adds excitement
and romance but also brings her crisis to a boiling point. The ferociously authentic Daria is a memorable
protagonist, narrating in a trenchant, self-aware past tense that carries readers through her personal cultural
minefield. Her gay brother and his husband are but one small detail that celebrates the complexity of and
diversity within modern American Islam. Full of surprises both cultural and emotional, and narrated in the
strong voice of a memorable protagonist, this is a tale of integrity, identity, family, love, and sacrifice that is
sure to satisfy. (Fiction. 11-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Nazemian, Abdi: THE AUTHENTICS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495427403/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6e46be09.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495427403
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The Authentics
Publishers Weekly.
264.24 (June 12, 2017): p67.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Authentics
Abdi Nazemian. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-248646-2
What begins as an English class assignment transforms into a messy but fulfilling journey of self-discovery
for a Beverly Hills teen in this first YA title from screenwriter and novelist Nazemian (The Walk-in Closet).
The project is simple: the students must present the stories of how they got to where they are today, but 15-
year-old Daria Esfandyar gets startling results from a genealogy test she takes with her friends, learning that
she is half Mexican and not fully Iranian as she thought. Struggling with her sense of self after determining
that she was adopted, Daria buries the hurt and betrayal she feels toward her parents and sets out to find her
biological mother. She finds the woman's stepson first and romantic sparks fly. Nazemian raises thoughtprovoking
questions about what "authenticity" means; Daria and her friends, aka the Authentics, pride
themselves on keeping it real. Darias struggles will resonate with readers who have felt like they don't know
where they belong or who they want to be, and certainly with the children of immigrants who feel caught
between worlds. Ages 13-up. Agent: Mitchell Waters, Curtis Brown. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Authentics." Publishers Weekly, 12 June 2017, p. 67. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495720758/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4408f7ff.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495720758
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The Authentics
Diane Colson
Booklist.
113.19-20 (June 2017): p91.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* The Authentics. By Abdi Nazemian. Aug. 2017.288p. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $17.99
(9780062486462); e-book, $17.99 (9780062486684). Gr. 9-12.
Daria despises the pretenses of the so-called Beverly Hills Persian princesses, which include nose jobs,
lavish sweet sixteen parties, and ignoring the current state of Iran. That's why Daria and her friends call
themselves the "Authentics." Daria is proud to own her Iranian heritage, just as the other Authentics
embrace their own unique identities. Things begin to unravel when Daria receives the results from a DNA
kit that reveal she is actually half Middle Eastern and half Mexican. Dismayed, Daria secretly begins an
investigation to find her birth parents. In the sequence of surprises along the way, Daria continually
reevaluates the meaning of identity and authenticity. Author Nazemian weaves a network of diverse
supporting characters that further explore these themes, such as Darias older brother and his Chinese
American husband, who are expecting their first child, and Darias birth mother's attractive stepson.
Nazemian keeps it all real by focusing on the strength of emotional bonds that transcend all external
differences. Darias mother, for example, could easily be a Persian princess stereotype, but she is ecstatic
about her gay son and the arrival of her first grandchild. As with the novels of Benjamin Alire Saenz or
Randa Abdel-Fattah, Darias thought-provoking journey will resonate with teen readers of all backgrounds. -
-Diane Colson
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Colson, Diane. "The Authentics." Booklist, June 2017, p. 91. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498582819/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=40fed218.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A498582819

Hazlett, Lisa A. "Nazemian, Abdi. The Authentics." Voice of Youth Advocates, Oct. 2017, p. 62. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A511785038/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018. "Nazemian, Abdi: THE AUTHENTICS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495427403/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018. "The Authentics." Publishers Weekly, 12 June 2017, p. 67. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495720758/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018. Colson, Diane. "The Authentics." Booklist, June 2017, p. 91. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498582819/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.

• Lambda Literary
  https://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/07/20/the-walk-in-closet-by-abdi-nazemian/
  Word count: 1042

  ‘The Walk-in Closet’ by Abdi Nazemian
  Review by Alex Kalamaroff
  July 20, 2014

  Kara Walker—the protagonist of Abdi Nazemian’s first novel The Walk-in Closet—is ready for a new life. And she’s not exactly picky. On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, still reeling from an old break-up and stuck in a dead-end Hollywood job, Kara is ready to make some compromises if it means she’ll experience something close enough to happiness. But close enough, we learn, is intolerably far from the real thing.

  Leila and Hossein Ebadi are a leading family in “Tehrangeles,” a contemporary milieu in Los Angeles inhabited by Iranians who immigrated to America after the shah’s overthrow in 1979. They seem to have it all—wealth, glamour, grandiloquent Nowruz parties, and the latest spring/summer ensembles from Prada. Of course, it’s not that the Ebadis don’t have problems; they’ve simply reached a bearable peace with their problems by never talking about them. Everyone is working to “maintain the façade,” including the Ebadis’ younger son Babak, who goes by “Bobby” and is Kara’s best friend.

  Although Bobby spends most of his free time online pursuing hook-ups with men he never wants to see again, he still lets his parents pretend his relationship with Kara is a romantic one. In fact, as of late the Ebadis have been pressuring Bobby and Kara to move into a house, get married, and pop out some adorable grandkids. So Kara is faced with an odd decision. “There were two options that seemed available for my life,” she thinks early in the novel, “become a fabulous Persian wife or become one of the girls.” Kara debates marrying her closeted gay friend because even though it won’t be the life she really wants, it will be something and at this point she’s almost ready to settle.

  The characters in The Walk-in Closet are fairly certain happiness exists but they struggle to believe it’s attainable for them. They worry they have too much baggage, too much hurt inside their hearts and too many eccentricities. Plus, ask anyone: It’s nearly impossible to meet decent guys in LA. So Kara, Bobby, and their friends try to satisfy themselves with tapas, expensive outerwear, and the internet.

  As Bobby becomes more immersed in ManHunt and hook-up apps, Kara thinks: “It was sad watching him enter a solitary existence, but then it also made me feel all the more needed.” This is a touching reflection that reveals the co-dependency inherent to their relationship. For Kara to maintain her current way of life, where her rent and spa treatments are paid for by the Ebadis, she needs Bobby to stay in the closet, just as he needs to her to help facilitate the increasingly extravagant lie they’re perpetuating. Soon Kara posts on Craigslist too. “What about me?” she wonders. “Am I invisible? I am flesh and blood, I am a woman who needs to be held, who needs the touch of a man at least once every eighteen months.”

  Nazemian is at his best exploring the relationships between Kara and Bobby and the studs they meet online. Meaningless sex is where the suffocating pressures of desire and loneliness intersect. Nazemian skillfully conveys both the fun of hooking-up and the deeper emotions Bobby and Kara seek to conceal with it.

  A pleasant satire typical of fiction set in LA balances out these more emotionally complex encounters. Pilates, pop music, the movie industry, and microwaveable enchiladas are all the butt of jokes the characters bounce off each other. Nazemian’s dialogue is delightful, trendy, and full of one-liners. While reflecting about an afternoon at the gym, for instance, Kara tells Bobby: “I lied to the treadmill. Remember that day I was running next to Hot Tattooed Guy? I had to punch in my age, and I lied. To a treadmill.” The best scenes in The Walk-in Closet are elaborate set-pieces centered around this fascinating, increasingly zany dialogue—including a frat party Kara attends with her actress friend while they’re both high on GHB and an awkward lunch at Il Forniao with Kara, Bobby, and their moms.

  However, the pacing of some scenes gets dragged down by Nazemian’s tendency to over-explain. Instead of allowing the dialogue to flow and letting the reader make sense of the intricacies of the characters’ exchanges, Nazemian regularly pauses mid-conversation to insert back-story, moderately relevant anecdotes, and totally unnecessary reminders. While such digressions could be employed occasionally to add complexity to seemingly banal banter, they occur with such frequency, especially in the first half of the novel, that Nazemian’s fantastic dialogue is sometimes overshadowed by paragraphs of exposition. It’s well-written exposition to be sure, but there’s way too much of it.

  As the novel progresses, we learn more about the Ebadi family and how history—both at its most global and its most personal—has shaped their lives. We are also drawn into a mystery. Thanks to her Craigslist post, Kara meets a man who works as an international journalist for CNN. While Bobby tells Kara never to meet the same trick twice, Kara can’t help it and quickly develops a strange relationship with this intriguing fellow who’s staying at the Four Seasons and whom she knows only as “Kevin.”

  Throughout The Walk-in Closet, Nazemian explores the ongoing conflict between desperation and hope—which Kara calls “such an overrated commodity.” We see how the little lies that might’ve initially seemed harmless can get compounded to nearly ruin lives. The truth, we learn, won’t save Kara and the people she loves, but it will allow them to escape the gilded cages they’ve built for each other and themselves. While Nazemian’s novel has some definite flaws, it is an intelligent, moving portrait of a family caught between its past and its future, between the happiness all the characters seek and the grand, unsustainable facade blocking their path.

  The Walk-in Closet
  By Abdi Nazemian
  Curtis Brown Unlimted
  Paperback, 9780615988689, 274 pp.
  May 2014

• Teen Reads
  https://www.teenreads.com/reviews/the-authentics
  Word count: 728

  Review
  The Authentics
  by Abdi Nazemain
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  Daria and her friend group, the Authentics, pride themselves on authenticity; maybe it’s because they all have a distinct style, and a seemingly have a close bond with each other, or perhaps it’s simply because they like to keep it real. When Daria finds out that her family has been hiding her adoption from her, she goes ballistic: why would her parents hide such a secret? Who were her real parents? Why is she so determined to find out?

  When I first read the synopsis for Nazemian’s THE AUTHENTICS, I was drawn to the "Nose Jobs," a group of Persian girls who essentially succumbed to popular culture in making the decision to alter their faces. Their ringleader, Heidi, just so happens to also be Daria’s not-so-nice ex-BFF. My family is North African, so I immediately put myself in Heidi’s shoes; I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with my nose myself, but looked to my mom, whose nose was identical to mine. These girls, however, didn’t have that same luxury as I do, so I think I can understand why they would go under the knife. Especially for body-conscious teens, plastic surgery is something some teens think about, and, in some cities, it may even common.

  "Nazemian managed to get everything right: a gripping story, lovable characters and a greater purpose....The story was so wonderful, so poignant in a way I could never expect. Nazemian brought up controversial issues...while still keeping it real."

  I loved the Authentics; they weren’t without faults, but they seemed like a group of people I’d genuinely like to hang out with. I’m not sure I can pick a definite favorite out of the bunch, but Kurt’s obsession with astrology undeniably puts him at the top of my list. Daria, our protagonist and heroine, was likable, yet I felt a little bit detached from her. Some of her interactions were too overdone, but it fit Daria’s personality in a way.

  A moment that stood out to me, for example was when Daria distanced herself from her own mother for Encarnacion --- although she is her biological mother --- in a grossly immature move that felt so fitting for a 15-year-old to do. Or when she caught Heidi and her mother shopping for knock-off designer goods and proceeded to feel like a saint for not telling the whole school about it. Honestly though, I don’t think I ever got over the fact that Daria was technically going out with her brother (even though they aren’t blood related, it’s just strange). All of the issues I had were nitpicks, though; I really do love this book.

  Nazemian managed to get everything right: a gripping story, lovable characters and a greater purpose. In writing a character like Lida, he acknowledged the separation of Persians versus Iranians, agnostic Muslims versus more practicing Muslims. In Amir and Andrew’s story, he not only broadcasted that gay couples have no reason to be denied a family life like the norm.

  As the story progressed, however, I realized that the same elements that made them "authentic" were perhaps too overdone, to the point that fakeness pervaded in them. About three quarters into the book, Daria realizes that in addition to her family hiding a giant secret, her best friends were too. The resolution was so heartwarming that I cried (seriously!). Daria’s friend group epitomized the squad goals I always wished I had, but never did.

  The story was so wonderful, so poignant in a way I could never expect. Nazemian brought up real issues --- agnosticism in Islam, gay marriage, family and personal identity --- while still keeping it real. It’s a celebration of culture, acceptance and family, and I thought it was beautifully written. I read it in a single sitting, wholly engrossed in the story without end; I recommend this to teens looking for a fun read.

  Reviewed by Rachel D., Teen Board Member on August 16, 2017

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