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Persian literature, translation studies Translation of modern
Persian literature, Persian literary translation in practice.
The Thousand Families by Ali Shabani, former court journalist and
writer under Mohammad Reza Shah, is a lively and entertaining
anecdotal history of the Qajar family, who ruled Iran from 1796 to
1925, as well as a number of their associates. Using memoirs,
diaries, government documents, and nineteenth century histories,
the author paints a vivid picture of the strengths and weaknesses,
character and habits, and family backgrounds and familial legacies
of the leading figures of the day. He comments, often ironically
and with novel metaphors and sometimes biting criticism, on the
behavior of these leaders, and he provides concise observations
concerning the effects of their actions on the country and people
of Iran. He outlines as well the policies and practices of the
Qajars with respect to governance and traces the changes effected
in the overall governmental structure of Iran during the nineteenth
and early twentieth century. The gradually increasing influence of
foreign powers (primarily Great Britain and Russia) throughout this
era does not escape the author's acerbic comments. Appendices
provide extensive documentation on kinship relationships within the
royal family. The translators have added notes, bracketed in the
text and in footnotes, to help orient readers less familiar with
Iranian history than the author's original audience. These include
key dates, more detail on sources (when available), reference to
easily accessible additional information on key figures, and
explanations of selected Persian sayings, customs, and practices.
Scholars and students of Iran, the Middle East, and the nineteenth
century in general will find this book of interest, as will the
general reader interested in royalty, political systems,
revolution, and center-periphery relationships.
Shams al-Din Mohammad Hafez is in love. He is in love with a girl,
with a city, and with Persian poetry. Despite his enmity with the
new and dangerous city leader, the jealousy of his fellow court
poets, and the competition for his beloved, Iran's favorite poet
remains unbothered. When his wit and charm are not enough to keep
him safe in Shiraz, his friends conspire to keep him out of
trouble. But their schemes are unsuccessful. Nothing will chase
Hafez from this city of wine and roses. In Pezeshkzad's fictional
account, Hafez's life in fourteenth-century Shiraz is a mix of
peril and humor. Set in a city that is at once beautiful and
cutthroat, the novel includes a cast of historical figures to
illuminate this elusive poet of the Persian literary tradition.
Shabani-Jadidi and Higgins's translation brings the beloved poetry
of Hafez alive for an English audience and reacquaints readers with
the comic wit and original storytelling of Pezeshkzad.
Twenty-six-year-old college graduate, artist, and employee of the
Ministry of Art and Culture, Hasti Nourian aspires to be a "new
woman"-independent-minded, strong-willed, and in control of her own
destiny. A destiny that includes Morad, an idealistic young
architect and artist with whom Hasti is deeply in love. Morad is a
sharp critic of Iran's Westernized bourgeois class, the one that
Hasti's mother relishes. After Hasti's father died, her mother
married a wealthy businessman and moved to an exclusive
neighborhood of northern Tehran. Socializing with a mixed group of
Americans, English-speaking Iranians, and British expats, her
mother's life revolves around gym visits, hairdressers, and party
planning. When her mother persuades Hasti to join her at the spa,
she introduces her to Salim, an eligible young man from a wealthy
family whose British education and proper comportment, as well as
his economic status make him an ideal suitor for Hasti in her
mother's eyes. Against her better judgment, Hasti finds herself
attracted to Salim and tempted by her mother's comfortable
lifestyle. As the novel unfolds, Hasti is torn between her first
love and the radical politics of her university friends, and love
for her mother and the freedom economic security can bring. Set in
Tehran in the mid-1970s, just a few years before the 1977-79
revolution, Daneshvar's unforgettable novel depicts the tumultuous
social, cultural, and economic changes of the day through the
intimate story of a young woman's struggle to find her identity.
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