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A Beginner's Guide to Acting English
 
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A Beginner's Guide to Acting English (Paperback)

by Shappi Khorsandi (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
RRP: £11.99
Price: £7.16 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Ebury Press (2 Jul 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0091922925
  • ISBN-13: 978-0091922924
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,436 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"written with an admirable lightness of touch and a novelist's eye for comic detail" --Stephanie Merritt, The Observer

"Charming and funny, I loved reading it." Jonathan Ross --Jonathan Ross


Review

"filled with laughter, wonder and compassion...It plunges us into the vibrant heart of a loud, loving Iranian family and vividly recreates the experience of being a child torn between vastly different cultures"
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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant - I couldn't put it down!, 7 Jul 2009
By Ms. B. Harper "Bry" (Flackwell Heath, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'm often a little wary of books written by comedians, they don't always tend to be very good at it. This is a total exception though. Shappi perfectly captures the voice of her child self and you find yourself looking upon her world through a 6 year olds eyes. Her story is touching and funny, but also incredibly accessible. A must read for anyone.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I cried from cover to cover!!!!, 5 Jul 2009
By A. Eivazmohammadi "The Princess" (Tyne and Wear, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Absolute genius. I bought this book for 3 reasons:

1) I'm a massive Shappi fan
2) I'm half Iranian
3) I needed something to help me procrastinate from the masses of coursework I have to complete

I started reading at 9pm whilst waiting for Big Brother to start and was so absorbed by the time 9.25pm came that I forgot to even switch on the TV. I was crying with laughter, crying tears of joy for all the sad bits, and cried just a little bit more as the hilarious stories of growing up with Iranian parents (in my case, just the one Iranian influence) reminded me of my own childhood.

Recommended to ANYONE, but beware of getting so hooked that you read the WHOLE thing in one sitting....it's now 5.23am and I just had to share my joy now that I've finished.

RAVING REVIEW FOR SHAPPI.....Fan-bloody-tastic!!!!xx
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Charming, Enjoyable, Delightful, 14 Sep 2009
By A. Marczak "mazzarak" (Didcot) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A Beginners Guide To Acting English is a memoir of Shappi Khorsandi's childhood, incorporating her move to the UK and dalliance with a fatwa.

The front cover suggests comedy. Perhaps some farce, with quotes lauding Britains Best Young Female Comic.

Within a few pages, I realised that I shouldn't have judged the book by its cover.

To clarify, Shappi is Iranian, she has an older brother, a mother, and her father is a famous satirical poet and cartoonist (in Iran at least). We join the family in Iran; everything is viewed through Shappi's pre-school eyes. Once I'd got over the fact that there was no way that Shappi could have remembered all this detail, and that much of her material must have been passed down from family, I really got into the sights, sounds and smells of Tehran.

The Khorsandis move to London at the time that the Ayatollah takes over rulership from the Shah. The childlike innocence with which Shaparak views everything is beautiful. There is no partisan view, no political standpoint. The view is always "If the Ayatollah met my Baba (dad), he'd find him really funny too."

In London they are dismissed as "Pakis", "terrorists" and suffer other verbal abuse. But Shappi and her brother are still just kids, and play just like kids. Even while the police tell them to disappear because of death threats.

My favourite quote comes as Hadi Khorsandi checks under his car for bombs. "Do any of you know what a bomb looks like?" "No." comes the reply. "Neither do I." But such gallows humour is always followed by a sigh of relief when the car doesn't blow up.

Charming, enjoyable, delightful. These are all how this book should be described. Shappi's affection for her friends, family and her homeland is touching and inspiring.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A beginner's guide to acting English
An interesting insight into growing up in London as an Iranian refugee with fairly 'alternative' parents. Read more
Published 21 days ago by S. J. Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely warm story
It is a lovely warm story of her childhood from Iran to Ealing. I really enjoyed it & felt I was looking over her shoulder as her life went by. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Molly

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun but not totally satisfying
This has a lot of great anecdotes, some very funny bits, and the author's love for her family comes over beautifully, but sometimes it felt like it got a bit lost - the thread, or... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Petridis

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Apart from being written in a very charming way, it also provides insight into an Iranian family trying to make a life in England while obviously still feeling very Iranian. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sara C. Hancock

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have read in years
I cannot remember the last time I read a book like this. It was hard to put down, it brings a lump to your throat then a smile to your lips in the course of one page, sometimes in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Bridger

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharpa Khorsandi
A Beginner's Guide to Acting English - very funny book and just the way i expected the written book to be as she is a comedian through and through. Read more
Published 2 months ago by V. Gain

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really that interesting
I read this book and was suprised to see the positive reviews.
I'm not an enourmous Shappi stand up routine fan as I find her wholly one dimensional. Read more
Published 2 months ago by L. Matheson

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome insight
This book is an awesome, and humourous insight into life in Iran and what it's like being a child integrating into British society in the 1970's. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nicnac

3.0 out of 5 stars Ideal beach reading....
This book was not as detailed as I would have liked - and certainly not as funny given Ms Khorsandi's reputation. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ruthie Mead

4.0 out of 5 stars A delight!
Warm, funny, sad, uplifting--Shappi's story is one to cherish. I subtracted a star for an editing quibble: please change the frequent uses of "I" for "me" in future reprintings;... Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. Welland

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