Everything Sad is Untrue (a True Story) by Daniel Nayeri

Reviewed by Hope M.
Grade 11

Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) is a novel describing the childhood of author and narrator Daniel (Khosrou) Nayeri. Usually, I don’t read many autobiographical books for fun, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. The narrative is powerful and raw, filled with wisdom and lessons for everyone.

Daniel is a refugee from Iran, attempting to share his story with his fellow students in Mrs. Miller’s class. Despite the fact that many call him a liar, he digs deep into his memories to communicate thoughts and feelings of his past not only with his classmates but also with the reader. Daniel describes tales about his ancestors, family, friends, and stepfather, and all the ways these people have influenced his life. Additionally, he imparts knowledge about Persian culture and the persecutions his family faced in traveling to a new country, as well as struggles that occurred before and after emigration. Ultimately, the author creates a tale of both fiction and nonfiction, recalling his memories as best he can.

I absolutely loved this story. Nayeri’s style of writing was so different from what I typically read as the book wasn’t really written in chronological order. Instead, the narrator jumped around from one memory of his life to another, making it more genuine and relatable to me because I believe that’s how we as human beings tend to think: more jumbled than organized. The author also introduced many thought-provoking circumstances and questions that caused me to muse in ways I haven’t before. For example, he asks, “And what if, like a rug, [memories] are flawed? Memories are just stories we tell ourselves, after all. What if we are telling ourselves lies?” (Nayeri 349). The whole book was full of perspectives like this. 

Furthermore, I loved the strength that his mother had. Daniel portrays her as tough, not because she is unbreakable but because she is unstoppable. Even though she was persecuted, she did not take on a victim mentality; rather, she persevered in faith because that was the right thing to do, regardless of any consequences that could occur. In my opinion, the author used humor, sadness, insight, and hope to construct a masterpiece.

Being a true story, I know it will offer people awareness about immigration, survival, and religious persecution. There are other deep topics introduced in the book, like physical abuse, that are hard to read, but they certainly add to the authenticity of the novel. I think this story has a lot of heart and wisdom that many will enjoy, so I highly recommend giving Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) a shot. You won't regret it!