Sutra & Other Stories [Hardcover]

Simin Daneshvar (Author), Hasan Javadi (Author), simin Daneshvar (Author), Amin Neshati (Author), Hasan Javadi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 1994

Here are six stories by one of Iran's greatest contemporary writers, rare and intimate glimpses into the lives of ordinary Iranian men and women; windows into the Persian soul. From the delicately painted tragedy of Mehrangiz in A City Like Paradise to the wry comedy of Anis, from two sisters' surreal nocturne in Childbirth to a village boy's broken dreams in Potshards, from a young woman torn between duty and passion in Bibi Shahrbanu to the brilliant and numinous Sutra, each story is told with the detail, clarity of vision, and deeply human compassion characteristic of Daneshvar's finest work. Daneshvar's Iran is a landscape in which the medieval and the modern coexist uneasily. Against this backdrop, the author explores the persistent themes of her nearly five decades as a writer: themes of sexual and racial identity, the social relations of wealth and poverty, the workings of memory and dreams. The lives of her characters-here, some of her most subtly realised -- are determined by conditions and norms over which they have little or no control; still, in the end, Sutra offers a vision of hope. These stories are a major addition to Daneshvar's works in translation, Daneshvar's Playhouse and Savushun.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These six vibrant stories by Iranian novelist Daneshvar (Savushun) chronicle the vicissitudes of life-its horror, unfairness, humor and fleeting beauty. There is the domestic tragedy of "A City Like Paradise," which tells of a black servant cudgeled and thrown out by her employer, who is jealous of her bonds with household members; the tart comedy of "Anis," about a woman who, as she shuttles from one husband to the next, swings from subservience to fervid religiosity to urbane sophistication; the social commentary of "Potshards," describing a patronizing, elderly white woman's impromptu attempt to adopt a village orphan. Born in 1921, Daneshvar portrays a world full of injustices and cruel surprises redeemed by hope and acts of kindness, such as a midwife's clandestine visit to save the life of an ungrateful pregnant woman ("Childbirth"). In the exuberant, virtuoso title story, a sea captain born in Madras, shipwrecked off Africa, recalls his smuggling exploits, his life in the Persian Gulf and the wife and daughter he forced into prostitution and then abandoned; half-delirious, he undergoes an exorcism to free himself of possession by a mermaid and then dictates his vision of a world free from tyranny and sorrow.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A veritable tour de force fusion of actuality, fantasy, and mystical transport. . . . Reveals Daneshvar at her most gifted, as an innovative writer of the highest order in the long history of Persian literature." -- Int'l Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

"Six stories probe the lives of individuals who reflect their changing culture. From tongue-in-cheek comedy and social reflection to delicate visions of women's hidden lives, this is packed with involving individuals and moving moments." -- Bookwatch

"The stories take us into the innermost thoughts of characters often tragically caught between harsh realities with which they must contend and pleasant dreams they have little hope of seeing realized." -- World Literature Today

"These six vibrant stories chronicle the vicissitudes of life-its horror, unfairness, humor and fleeting beauty..." -- Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mage Publishers; 1st edition (October 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934211426
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211420
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,110,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short story at its best, June 17, 1999

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Crismus Bonus (Messilia, Galia Narbonensis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sutra & Other Stories (Hardcover)

Simin Daneshvar's second collection of short stories which was published in iran under the title of "Be Ki Salaam Konam." A great book, wonderful to read. Along with Jalal Al Ahmad's "Se Tar", Sadegh Hedayat's "Sag-e Velgard", and of course Jamal Zadeh's "Yeki Bood, Yeki Nabood", one of the finest collection of Persian short stories by the best fiction writer of the modern Persian literature, Ostad Simin Daneshvar.