Book Review: When Skateboards Will Be Free

When Skateboards Will Be Free
9.5 of 10
Author: Said Sayrafeizadeh
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I don't buy a book based on its cover art (like I do with music sometimes). But I often fall prey to a book's title. So when I came across When Skateboards Will Be Free at Amazon, I couldn't help but toss it into my cart. I was so captivated with the book's title that I bought it unknowingly of what it was really about. A non-fiction, I thought it was a documentary of the skater culture. But after I had read its synopsis, and saw its subtitle, I realized that the book is about the author's political childhood rather than extreme sports.

I wasn't disappointed when I found out what Skateboards is about, however. It actually piqued my curiosity due to its synopsis and title not adding up together. It's the kind of book that you would want to read just to learn of how or why the author chose such title. Luckily, author Said Sayrafeizadeh was quick enough to quench my curiosity and revealed the origins of his book's title in the first chapter. It's a dream, a political one, of a coming revolution that the author and his mother had clung to during most of his childhood.

The book, of course, doesn't stop from being interesting after the first chapter. In fact, it is only an appetizer since Sayrafeizadeh seems to have emptied his memory bank just to fill this book with funny and depressing anecdotes from his childhood. An Iranian-Jewish descent, Said Sayrafeizadeh is born to parents who are members of the Socialist Workers Party. So his childhood is full of mishaps and adventures like stealing grapes during the Grape Boycott, trips to Cuba to learn about living under a socialist government, or losing friends by supporting the Iranian Revolution.

When Skateboards Will Be Free is probably the only book that I didn't regret buying because of its interesting title. It tells a very beautiful story that will let you glimpse into a life of a socialist in a capitalistic world, of a child with a different ideological upbringing. It's heartwarming as well as heartbreaking. It actually made me appreciate my life as a kid and all the things I had even more. But, at the same time, it also made me envious of the author's unique childhood. If you're looking for a book with an amazing story, then look no further and grab Skateboards.

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