A Persian Requiem [Hardcover]

Simin Daneshvar (Author), Simin Danishvar (Author), Roxane Zand (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1992

Set in the southern Persian town of Shiraz in the last years of World War II with the British army in occupation, the novel chronicles the life of Zari, a traditional, anxious, and superstitious woman whose husband, Yusef  is an idealistic feudal landlord.  A web of political intrigue and hostility is created.  In the background, tribal leaders are in open rebellion against the government and British occupation.  In the midst of this turbulence Zari carries on normal life within the beautiful courtyard of her house, attempting to keep the family safe from external events.  The corruption engendered by occupation is pervasive as Zari's family life is shattered and disaster strikes. An immensely moving story, the novel is a powerful indictment of colonization.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Persian Requiem is the first published novel by an Iranian woman and one of the most widely read novels in Iran. It begins on the eve of World War II, as two landholder brothers, Yusef and Abol-Ghassem, react in opposite ways to the British request for their grain harvests. Through Zari, Yusef's wife, we hear, see, and feel the power struggle created by each brother's choice. Yusef refuses to sell his grain out from under the people of his homeland to feed a foreign army. Abol-Ghassem seeks personal gain through accepting British policies and their determination to keep Iran's oil out of Hitler's control, and he tries to persuade his brother to sell. Zari believes she must be the family peacemaker, a difficult role in these troubled times: "...she kept thinking about her past, and wondering whether she had always been a coward or whether she had become one." A Persian Requiem emanates the heat of the Iranian summer and the longing for the coolness of water. Here are individual lives in a country caught in an international power struggle: landowners and their families, servants who hold knowing tongues, nomadic tribes whose lands are being controlled by outside forces, and Zari, a woman who must come to understand her role amidst her family, her country, and the world. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Persian

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 279 pages
• Publisher: George Braziller; First Edition edition (February 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807612731
• ISBN-13: 978-0807612736
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,965,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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