User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
My thanks to Skyhorse Publishing, and Netgalley. Ayser Salman is a freak of nature! I expected all sort of Immigrant angst from her. Nope. Not a peep. She did experience a few weird things that most of us didnt. Sorry Ayser, the smacking of butts in preschool must be an Ohio thing. Heck, it's probably in their college chant song, but since the rest of us aren't Midwesterners then we don't understand it! It is after all Ohio! My favorite thing about Ayser? She's human! Yep! Who'd a thunk it? She leaves Iraq at.3. Comes to Ohio, U.S.A., where some really odd things happen in school! Yet, she still hasn't given up on us yet! Kentucky. Saudi Arabia. She meets some of her favorite people ever in S.A. Sorry, Saudi Arabia..Not South Africa.Then she's here, home again. My favorite thing about Ayser is just how very girl next door she is. Ayser would have been my friend, although I'd have stopped her from wearing all those stupid, preppy clothes! Oh, she wouldn't have thanked me though, because I'd have put her in suede cowboy boots, with some tight levis, and legwarmers, and cowboys chasing her all over the place! Sorry, but there was no point to any of it if those cowboys weren't knock, knock, knocking! I'm all seriousness though, Ayser is funny. Her family is one of whom most would envy. Annoying? At times, sure. But love always rings true. I love stories like this.
Rating: really liked it
I enjoyed this memoir from Ayser Salman - it is full of funny and relatable moments, magnified by occasional cultural misunderstandings. Ayser moved from Iraq to Ohio to Saudi Arabia, and experiences awkwardness everywhere. The memoir finishes up in the almost present day, with stories about dating in her 40s. I love the interactions with her parents in particular.
I received a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss, and it came out 5 March 2019.
Rating: really liked it
I really wanted to love this, but I'll be honest - it was a slog.
For a comedy writer, this wasn't very funny. The chapters were all short stories about her life and while I get that's what memoirs are, it's the writer's job to take those short snippets and turn them into interesting, or educational, or fun prose. Salman failed and
Wrong End is just a strange, rambling dinner conversation where you're not quite sure why your guest is telling you all this, but you nod politely anyway.
I liked the premise - growing up in an increasingly divided America as an Iraqi-Muslim immigrant, I just wish there had been more ... something... to the book. More heart, or more humour.
I would have given this 3 stars but had to take off an entire star for the sheer number of ridiculous footnotes. Good God, those things were unnecessary, unfunny and distracting.
Rating: really liked it
Every American should read this book. Salman examines growing up in the United States as a female Muslim and always feeling like she is sitting “at the wrong end of the table”. Moving with her family when she was young from Iraq to Columbus, Ohio, Salman endured culture shock of epic proportions. Daily American life occasionally placed her in positions that ran contrary to her religious beliefs and following the 9/11 attacks, Salman experienced hostility for simply being Muslim. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and felt I learned a lot about a culture with which I was not very familiar.
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Rating: really liked it
This book is a fun and light look into the life of an immigrant to the us from Iraq. It’s humorous though doesn’t dig particularly deep. It’s an easy read with some observations that are insightful though not life/world changing.
Rating: really liked it
I picked this up off of Edelweiss because I'm making a conscious effort to read books by authors with a broader range of backgrounds. In that regard, this was an excellent memoir about a woman whose family immigrated from Iran to Kentucky to Saudi Arabia, then back to the US. Ayser Salman's story could not be more different than my own.
But, honestly, the bulk of this book didn't really do that much for me. Some of the stories made me giggle a little and a handful helped me see things from a different perspective—especially when Salman recounted the period of her childhood in which she lived in Saudi Arabia—but I felt like that vast majority of the stories were lacking in depth. Many were very brief, just a couple pages long in the digital format, and amounted to little more than recounting a single event or factoid that could have been relayed in a few sentences—relaying a single bullying incident or how she embarrassed herself in from of a childhood crush one time. I felt like there could have been a greater sense of reflection on how these many incidents played into a bigger picture, maybe even a greater sense of cohesiveness throughout the book.
Also, there was a chapter in which she spoke about going on a date with a Muslim man who spoke about other Muslim ethnicities in blanket statements grounded in stereotypes: Lebanese women do this, Egyptian women do that...this upset Salman, which is justified. But, then, in the
very next chapter, she made statements about how all Muslim families do certain things. It was the very same behavior that she had just complained about. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if she hadn't literally just complained about it, and I found that mildly irritating.
That being said, I do think this is a worthwhile read for anyone looking to expand their horizons a little bit. Salman does do a nice job conveying some of the challenges of growing up Muslim and event being a Muslim adult in am America where "Muslim" is often synonymous with "the bad guy." I just wouldn't expect to have your mind blown by this one...
Rating: really liked it
thank you to Get Red PR and Sky Horse Publishing for sharing this memoir with me!
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i’m already a sucker for a good memoir, but i really appreciated the longitudinal story telling, the different cultural experiences, and the way the Ayser writes as a whole in this memoir. there is humor weaved throughout the entirety of the book, while also maintaining authenticity and the realness of each story. i’ve caught myself laughing and immediately feeling all the feelings right after. it has been interesting and eye opening to read about Ayser’s experiences living in different countries at various ages and stages of her life. her resilience and capacity to check in with herself among so much change is something really sticking with me. i’ve found myself processing alongside Ayser in some of these stories, and have found the process to feel really human and healing.
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reading this memoir as a white woman, it feels important to me to acknowledge my privilege and differences as i read what she went through, starting at a very young age. i have not experienced all that comes with immigration, emigration, and assimilation that she shares about in her stories, and while we have experienced similar historical traumas, i acknowledge the differences in impact these traumas had on our lives, simply based on race and ethnicity alone. i appreciate her openness and vulnerability and know that i will never fully understand all that she went through. i’m grateful to have learned more about her and her experiences, and encourage you to approach this book with an open mind and open heart, because i promise you, we all have something to learn from one another, and you will definitely do so in reading this book.
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4/5 ⭐️
Rating: really liked it
It takes guts to reference Garanimals, McMuffins, and dictators in one book, but Salman pulls it off with panache, aplomb, flair, and all the other words like that. I love this very funny—sometimes poignantly funny; sometimes dark; sometimes dramatic—and fascinating memoir about a highly-visible girl who would prefer to remain invisible as she tries to figure out how to adapt to a new culture, and then adapt to a different but familiar culture, and then re-readapt (is that a thing?) to the first new culture. That girl grows into a teen with secret boyfriends and a dream of being a rock star, who grows into a college student grappling with confusion over being called white while also facing discrimination for being Iraqi, who grows into a grad student in film school in LA whose boyfriend's mother buys her a cross.... I'm sorry—am I ruining this book for you? Okay, suffice it to say this is a fantastic, funny, moving ride that delves into important ideas about racism, identity, intersectionality, and sanitary pads as clothing de-fuzzers. Enjoy. And whatever you do, don't skip the footnotes—they're as delightful as the main text.
Rating: really liked it
I loved Ayser Salman's reading of her memoir! She is so funny, authentic, and refreshing. A great pick for audio.
Rating: really liked it
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Wrong End of the Table A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim American Woman Just Trying to Fit In” by Ayser Salman, Skyhorse Publishing, March 5, 2019
Ayser Salman, Author of “The Wrong End of the Table, A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab Woman Just Trying to Fit In” has written an entertaining and witty Memoir. Ayser Salman writes about her traditional and immigrant parents who left an oppressed life for freedom in America. As a little girl, Ayser had a difficult time adjusting to the environment and the other children in Columbus, Ohio. She always felt like an outcast. Her parents were very strict, and found it difficult to understand the modern ways of American life.
Ayser Salman writes honestly and shares how her parent’s cultural and traditional values differed in many ways from the expectations that Ayser felt in America. Ayser also writes how the politics in America, made her carefully rethink choices that she had. She candidly writes her dating experiences, and friendships. I found Asyer Salman’s experiences intriguing. I would recommend this for readers who enjoy memoirs. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
The following review is my personal opinion and in thanks to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for an advance readers’ ebook.
I laughed my way through this charming book of an Iraqi woman and her experience growing up in America. I suppose I can relate being quite shy and insecure of myself growing up, but also knowing what it’s like living abroad. I had a good friend from a Turkish Muslim family and remember similar sentiments from them also. I won’t think of McDonald’s or money the same way.
The book also shows we have way more in common with immigrants than many realize and the book is being published at a very pertinent time in history.
I liked all the endnotes and especially learning the thoughts of her family. Kids are still jerks and my heart ached multiple times for Ayser Eraser. (Ok, could not resist adding that).
Only dislike is the use of swearing where it’s really not necessary.
Rating: really liked it
I enjoyed the audible version, which is read by the author. Some parts were laugh out loud funny!! The very beginning seemed like it could have used a bit more editing due to some redundancies in storytelling, but this was a mount distraction. I’m also a bit perplexed by the marketing of the book, which highlights a move to Cols, OH (though this is such a small part of the actual book). Nevertheless, I thought it was a really moving memoir, and I’m glad that it was chosen for my book club!
Rating: really liked it
i couldn’t really connect with this story and honestly found it hard to read at times
Rating: really liked it
"The Wrong End of the Table" by Ayser Salman is a funny outlook on American life via the eyes of an Iraqi Muslim transplant. It's very light as in mostly the reader gets a view of dating obstacles rather than visits to the mosque, but the humor is well-constructed and the story is relatable.
The author moves to Ohio from Iraq at the age of 3 with eventually relocating to Kentucky then Saudi Arabia then back to Kentucky, where she wrestles with adolescence. Some of the events chosen to be highlighted are intriguing with her stint living in Saudi Arabia and connecting with a friend through the "Xanadu" soundtrack. Or how another friend there worked to escape the restrictive country to her mother who lived in the U.S. The Saudi Arabia chapters stick out since it's rare to hear what it was like to grow up as a girl there in the 1980s, especially one who had come from America. Another event that stuck out was when the author lived in the college dorm in Kentucky and was accused by her African-American roommate's cousin of racism over a Prince poster. It shows the growth during that young adult period when clashing with different people from different backgrounds.
Then some of the events were questionable to be plucked out for a memoir like her preschool experience of seeing sexual touching, which didn't really open to another storyline though emphasized how America would be very different from Iraq. It fit with the theme of the story of not understanding what was going on while trying to be in the know, but it was awkward. At the end, she dives into dating in her 40s, which highlights multiple men who don't really make an imprint in her life yet they're mentioned.
Overall, it's a light and funny memoir. I waited for moments such as her experiences jumping to so many different places and finding a mosque since her Muslim identity is in the title and a part of the book's marketing, but it's somewhat missing. The footnotes on almost every page may sound annoying, but they're hilarious. To sum the memoir up would be it's a collection of essays of experiences that may not be as life-defining but can induce laughs.
Rating: really liked it
“At the wrong end of the table” is an exaggerating written, a humorous memoir of an Iraqi-Muslim, Ayser Salman. She recounts her life from when she was three and her family immigrated to America to escape the Saddam Hussain’s regime.
The author was lucky as she escaped and had good opportunities, but she was always at the wrong end of the table, hence the title. Ayser wanted to be like other kids, a normal American, maybe one of the cool kids too. But she was always the weird lesbian girl (which she’s not) and called Ayser eraser (and some other names too, but you’ll have to know the story behind them). The book is all about how she overcomes her insecurities and becomes an independent member of the society all while keeping a balance between traditions and regulations set by her parents and the society she lived in.
Memoirs aren’t my cup of tea (or coffee) but when I read the words Muslim and humor, I decided to read it. There was humor, but every humorous thing had been exaggerated and I think the word Muslim was only on the title, the book was more about being an Iraqi than a Muslim. The book shows the political aspect of 9-11 and how she felt as an Iraqi-American. Ayser Salman finally got at the right end of the table
The book was a good read. It tells how immigrants feel and what they go through in their daily life as an American citizen.
