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.