Married to a Stranger [Paperback]

Nahid Rachlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

When Minou Hakini marries a man of her own choosing—an intellectual and a radical—and moves to Abadan, a thriving oil town near the Iraqi border, she imagines her life will be adventurous and liberating. Before long, however, she becomes aware of her husband's suspicious liaisons and dangerous activities. Her struggle to forge her own identity as a woman in contemporary Iran is charged with passion, anger, and finally a need to escape.

Nahid Rachlin is an Iranian who lives in New York and teaches at Barnard College. She is the author of Foreigner and The Heart's Desire, both novels, and Veils, a collection of short stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in contemporary Iran, Rachlin's novel tells of a woman's struggle for her rights and her life.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Nahid Rachlin is the Iranian-American author of four novels, short stories, and essays. She teaches at New School University and the Unterberg Poetry Center at the 92nd Street Y, New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: City Lights Publishers; 1st City Lights Books ed edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872862763
• ISBN-13: 978-0872862760
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,351,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BRIEF BIO http://www.nahidrachlin.com

Nahid Rachlin attended Columbia University MFA program on a Doubleday-Columbia Fellowship and then went on to Stanford University MFA program on a Stegner Fellowship. Her publications include a memoir, PERSIAN GIRLS (Penguin), four novels, JUMPING OVER FIRE (City Lights), FOREIGNER (W.W. Norton), MARRIED TO A STRANGER (E.P.Dutton), THE HEART'S DESIRE (City Lights), and a collection of short stories, VEILS (City Lights). Her individual stories have appeared in about fifty magazines. One of her stories was produced by Symphony Space, "Selected Shorts" and was aired on NPR radio stations around the country.
Her work has received favorable reviews in major magazines and newspapers and translated into Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, and Farsi. She has written reviews and essays for New York Times, Newsday, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. She received many awards, including the Bennet Cerf Award, PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
She has been interviewed in magazines such as Poets & Writers and AWP Writers Chronicle, and TV such as Channel 13, and on NPR's such as Fresh Air, Terry Gross, All Things Considered.
Read a recent review of PERSIAN GIRLS: http://www.brooklyntoday.info/features/465-persian-girls.html

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well-told story in simplistic style, April 10, 1999

By 

lisatheratgirl "lisatheratgirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Married to a Stranger (Paperback)

So far this is my favorite of Nahid Rachlin's books. The story is told in simple sentences, corresponding with the youth and naivete of the main character, Minou, who marries an older man of her own choosing after graduating from high school. She has no idea what she has gotten herself into, and while her parents claim an arranged marriage would have been better, this is questionable since the book takes place in the late 1970s, before, during, and after the overthrow of the Shah and the fundamentalist revolution. The book opens with a young girl's happiness about her upcoming wedding and the tension gradually builds up to the end. Rachlin's books give Americans an inside picture of Iranian culture and society, particularly concerning the position of women. I hope she will continue writing.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Femaie Voice from Iran, December 14, 2001

By 

Mr. Curnett (Colorado, USA!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Married to a Stranger (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading Married To a Stranger. As I read, I kept reveling in the ability to read the ideas of such a rare protagonist in our literary canon, the Iranian female. Minou's story is a hero's journey of sorts--and I say of sorts because of the patriarchal ideas we've grown up with. I should write that it is a hero's journey, period.

Why it's three and not four or five stars: I wanted to know more of Javad and his involvement in politics and writing; I wanted to know more of his affair; I wanted to know more about Minou at the end of the novel. I hope I haven't given a lot away here . . .

However, looking at it culturally, what a nice experience as a reader to be shown Iran from a woman's point of view. Superb.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read, April 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Married to a Stranger (Paperback)

Ms. Rachlin insightfully describes universal human feelings of love and longing in a voice not usually heard from--a woman from Iran. I highly recommend this book for people interested in an original portrayal of familiar but important themes.