Great for fans!

Nice collection of stories! Like Nayyar says, this isn't a memoir; it's a collection of stories. What lovely stories they are! He speaks with much love and affection for his family, especially his father. Most of Nayyar's stories aren't really about *things* that have happened to him so much as *people* who have happened to him. We hear about his first roommate, his first love, then his first performance in a play, his first audition. He went to the U.S. to study business and fell in love with acting, all with the loving support of his family. Much of the last part of the book is about meeting his wife and his weeklong wedding in India. Nayyar speaks with fondness about India, his extended family and his heritage. Amazingly, his role as Raj Koothrapali, on The Big Bang Theory, was one of the first television roles he auditioned for. The book is warm and friendly and full of positivity.

I listened to this book immediately after Kal Penn's book "You Can't Be Serious". What a study in contrast! Both authors do their own narrations.

Kal Penn, the American born to Indian immigrants, is loud and emphatic (even when recounting tales of his grandparents marching with Gandhi. He is bold and laugh-out-loud funny. He becomes indignant at the slightest hint of racial injustice (a feeling I know well, as a Canadian born to Guyanese immigrants). He is very humble and gracious and attributes much of his success to others in his industry. Late in his book he acknowledges that his parents - who he loves very much - did not dissuade him from acting as much as he may have thought, and they may have even helped him a little.

In comparison, Kunal Nayyar is, himself, an immigrant. He is quieter and thoughtful. He recounts tales of his father's wisdom. His jokes were tame, never hurting anyone, and eliciting only small chuckles from me. Many incidents that would probably make Kal Penn (and me) red with rage (e.g. being asked to play an Iranian character), seem to make Nayyar just shrug ("yeah, sure, it's the same"). He is also humble and gracious, but he attributes everything he is, and all his success, to his family - particularly his father.

It's interesting, the difference in expectations between the two men, as well as the difference in how each perceives his success. Kal Penn attributes his success to his hard work, overcoming obstacles and putting up with some Hollywood crap before putting his foot down and refusing to give in to the industry's expectations that he fulfill racial stereotypes. Kunal Nayyar mostly attributes his success to the love and encouragement of his family and doesn't have much to say about race in Hollywood. It's obvious who was born into a society in which racial injustice is an everyday hurdle and who wasn't. In North America there is an expectation of equality, even if that is not the reality. In India, I guess "equality" means something different. Or maybe Indians save their rage and indignation for something else? That Gandhi must have been onto something. ;)

Anyway, comparisons aside, if you're a Kunal Nayyar fan, you'll love hearing him talk about his life and family. Great book!

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