Suri & Co.: Tales of a Persian Teenage Girl (CMES Modern Middle East Literature in Translation) [Paperback]

Mahshid Amirshahi (Author), J. E. Knörzer (Translator), Hafez Farmayan (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: CMES Modern Middle East Literature in Translation | Publication Date: 1995

These lively fictional tales offer an unusual perspective on Iranian life and society. Told by a high-spirited, intelligent, willful (if sometimes insecure) teenage girl, they recount incidents in her daily life in Iran in the 1970s before the Revolution. Without any ideological "message," they present human interest and social comment. Their central characteristic is humor, from slapstick to subtlety, which can be easily appreciated across cultural boundaries. As we meet Suri's immediate family, distant relatives, and friends, we are discreetly introduced to upper-middle-class society in an Iran undergoing headlong westernization. The contradictions between this process and traditional Iranian mores are particularly well depicted. Much writing in recent years has been concerned with the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. This volume reminds us that there is always an ongoing human dimension largely unaffected by political and religious changes. Another feature is the homogeneity of this collection, created by one author and interpreted by the translator.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Persian

Product Details

• Paperback: 97 pages
• Publisher: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292704631
• ISBN-13: 978-0292704633
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars funny, November 27, 2007

By 

Amina Henriksen (New York, NY, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suri & Co.: Tales of a Persian Teenage Girl (CMES Modern Middle East Literature in Translation) (Paperback)

This book is exactly as the title describes: Tales of a Persian Teenage Girl. She is a young woman who is sharp and direct, and her comments are quite witty. It just so happens that the teenager is Persian, and therefore the culture is reflected in Suri's circumstances. Neither Islam nor politics have a role in the book; in fact, her family appears quite secular and non-political. The author's commentary, via Suri, is more of the trials and tribulations that an independent-minded Persian teenage girl from an upper-class family would have been facing in 1960s Iran. It's a very enjoyable read that will have you outright laughing at times.

3.0 out of 5 stars Suri, October 4, 2003

By 

visje (Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Suri & Co.: Tales of a Persian Teenage Girl (CMES Modern Middle East Literature in Translation) (Paperback)

8 stories about Iran before the Islamic Revolution. They all center around Suri, a teenage girl from a upper-class Teheran family.
Suri is, as a lot of teenagers are, highly critical of everything and everybody around her.
The stories are rather simple. They tell us about every day-events like a party Suri goes to, the birth of her sister's baby etc.
These stories were first published around 1970. The author left Iran after the Islamic Revolution and now lives in France.

Above I read about this book: "This volume reminds us that there is always an ongoing human dimension largely unaffected by political and religious changes".
I don't think so: Suri's life would have been affected by the 1979 revolution. As alcohol is forbidden, the first story in which Suri drinks whiskey in a restaurant would not have happened. As parties where both boys and girls attend are forbidden, the second story in which Suri goes to a party would not have happened. And so on.
Exactly this is the problem in Iran. The "ongoing human dimension" is affected by the Khomeiny-clan. In other words: one can not live as one wishes in that country.