Needless to say, the course of their true love does not run smoothly. May 05, 2009 censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour from one of irans most acclaimed and controversial contemporary writers, his first novel to appear in english a dazzlingly inventive work of fiction that opens a revelatory window onto what its like to live, to love, and to be an artist in todays iran. The author, shahriar mandanipour has chosen not to write a love story for the ages, but has instead, written a heartrending story for the moment eventually, this book will stand as an important history lesson. The novel was such a success that it was adapted into an animated feature film of the same name. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. In his first novel to appear in english, one of irans most important living fiction writers the guardian shows what its. Censoring an iranian love story book by shahriar mandanipour. Whether a lullaby, a grandmothers bedtime story, or a tale from the thousand and one nights told by the heroine scheherazade, the oral tradition of storytelling has been prominent in the culture and traditions of persian speakers. In fact, at its best, censoring an iranian love story becomes a kind of kunderalike rumination on philosophy and politics, exploring the nervous interface between the public and the private. Read censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour available from rakuten kobo. Written by an esteemed iranian author, shahriar mandanipour, censoring an iranian love story is a darkly comic and profoundly touching story that weaves an intricate tale of love between the constraints of contemporary iranian government and the cultural relationships between men and women there. First off, we learn from the narrator, who like the author is named shariar, that to be a writer in iran means not only writing the story you want to write but also having to bowdlerize the story for the ministry of culture.
The author is a prominent presence in censoring an iranian love story, which is more about the writing and, yes, censoring of the lovestory of the title than anything else. The tale of dara and sara lurches forward, frequently interrupted by such authorial intrusions as now our love story is slowly approaching its first incident. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. For example i just came across these 4 new books, 2 with iranian authors, 2 with iranian characters. The real daughter from the hit film, not without my daughter, remembers her harrowing escape from iran. Foucault and the iranian revolution gender and the seductions of islamism janet afary and kevin b. Censoring an iranian love story by zipp, yvonne the. For mandanipour, the censor is a kind of cowriter of the book, and he appears often in this novel. The love story itself, between sara and dara is printed in bold type, while the authors comments and explanations are presented in regular type.
Censoring an iranian love story ebook by shahriar mandanipour. Mandanipour guides the reader through this maze by having the novel printed in bold font and the commentary in regular font. In censoring an iranian love story, the first novel to be published in english by iranian writer shahriar mandanipour, the first word of the title is the one that should govern a readers expectations. Censoring an iranian love story encyclopaedia iranica. Add to cart buy now add to wishlist remove from wishlist. Storytelling and childrens literature a thousand years of. Reading guide for censoring an iranian love story by.
A brief history of irans modern literature british council. Nezamis classic epic love story in prose by farideh golboo excerpt. Jul 23, 2009 censoring an iranian love story is one of the most unusual books i have read recently and is very difficult to classify. New books archaeology, anthropology architecture art biographies, memoirs business, economy. This story is juxtaposed with, and soon subsumed by, a love story the kunderaesque narrator wants to write. I want to tell in my blog post the story behind this hashtag. Iranain authors and even iranian characters in books are showing up more and more on the literary scene. In censoring an iranian love story, the first novel to be published in english by iranian writer shahriar mandanipour, the first word of the title is the one that should govern a readers. The story is told by a fictional narrator who is caught between the undeniable urge to write a love story and the story he is allowed to write in accordance with extreme censorship from the government. A writer named shahriarthe authors fictional alter egohas struggled for years against the allpowerful censor at the ministry of culture and islamic guidance. Kamin mohammadis top 10 iranian books books the guardian. Censoring an iranian love story, shahriar mandanipour.
At its best, censoring an iranian love story becomes a kunderalike rumination on philosophy and politics that playfully investigates the possibilities and limits of storytelling. A socalled tanker war actively continued in the persian gulf since 1984. Sara and dara, two characters from a childrens textbook, grown up and both virgins. Similar to romeo and juliet, the writers two lovers struggle to endure against powerful external forces. Truly original, censoring an iranian love story is an incredibly imaginative yet always charming love story set in contemporary iran that crackles with wit, verve and social comment. Aug 14, 2009 saeed kamali dehghan on love and the censor.
Censoring an iranian love story penguin random house. I am an iranian writer tired of writing dark and bitter stories, stories. How a persianamerican love story got its start in harlem. In 1975 he moved to tehran and studied political sciences at tehran university, graduating in 1980. May 29, 2009 in censoring an iranian love story, the first novel to be published in english by iranian writer shahriar mandanipour, the first word of the title is the one that should govern a readers. Reading guide for censoring an iranian love story by shahriar. A memoir of growing up iranian in america and american in iran azadeh moaveni excerpt.
Censoring an iranian love story shahriar mandanipour, author, sara khalili, translator, trans. How does this story and the other legends, myths, tales from iranian cultural history relate to sara and daras narrative. I suppose it could be compared to the movie within a movie aspect of the princess bride, if the princess bride was, at its heart, about the difficulty of literature in iran. Preceding the publication of its persian original by over a decade sweden, 2001, sahe siahpusan by husang golsiri 19382000 was translated by abbas milani as king of the benighted and was first published under the pseudonym manuchehr irani in washington d. It is the story of arash sadeghi and golrokh ebrahimi iraee, a story about their harassment and. Kamin mohammadis top 10 iranian books from 10thcentury epics to 21stcentury graphic novels, the author picks the books that best illuminate a country too. Code switch tell me mores davar ardalan remembers her grandparents, who met in 1920s harlem. Seamlessly entwining two related narratives, mandanipour unfolds the tale of an iranian writer attempting to pen a love story set in presentday iran. In his first novel to appear in english, one of irans most important living fiction writers the guardian shows what. Censoring an iranian love story is a brilliant novel about the complexities of writing and publishing in iran. One of the things i found unusual about censoring an iranian love story is the playful way in which mandanipour deals with what could easily become pretty depressing subject matter. Censoring an iranian love story shahriar mandanipour. As their love story progresses, mandanipour elucidates the history of censorship in iran, dating back hundreds of years to the intricate metaphors. Mandanipours literary games occasionally make this book read like a charlie kaufman movie script run amok, his novel leaves the reader with a.
Censoring an iranian love story is a book of many stories in multiple layers told in an original and satirical manner. This is a list of short story iranian writers either born in iran or holding iranian citizenship, also non iranian persian short story writers and short story writers of iranian descent. A novel by shahriar mandanipour, sara khalili from amazons fiction books store. Censoring an iranian love story is one of the most unusual books i have read recently and is very difficult to classify. W hen a story comes to an iranian writers mind, he or she is doomed to think of two different versions. Jul 20, 2011 kamin mohammadis top 10 iranian books from 10thcentury epics to 21stcentury graphic novels, the author picks the books that best illuminate a country too little known in the west kamin mohammadi. Sports and society since 1945 1994, to the demise of our small towns, main street blues. Digging to america by anne tyler she is the late taghi moddaressis wife the rug merchant by meg. Ostensibly a tale of romance, the book delves deeply into themes of censorship as the author struggles, in the text, with writing a love story that hell be able to get past irans ministry of culture and islamic guidances office of.
In 2009, mandanipour published censoring an iranian love story, his first novel to be translated into english. The novel entwines two equally powerful narratives. For hundreds of years these stories have formed a rich foundation for persian authors of childrens books. John bricker and american politics 1993, to our countrys love of sports, americas obsessions. As such, much of censoring an iranian love story is a primer on contemporary iranian conditions, most notably the emphasis on segregation of the sexes and appearances of propriety. Censoring an iranian love story shahriar mandanipour 2011. Censoring an iranian love story is not simply prohibited by censorship but made by it. If we consider the works of sadegh hedayat 19031951 in fiction and nima yushij 18951960 in poetry as the beginning of irans modern literature, then. Discuss the conclusion of the novel, which leaves much to the readers imagination yet in many ways for example, with the return of the hunchback midget feels very fitting. Shahriar mandanipour, a contemporary and controversial iranian writer, presents his first novel written in english. May 09, 2014 how a persianamerican love story got its start in harlem. They cost a lot though in both ebook and hardcopy formats. Preceding the publication of its persian original by over a decade sweden, 2001, sahe siahpusan by husang golsiri 19382000 was translated by abbas milani as king of the benighted and was first. His books run the gamut from a biography of a conservative republican presidential candidate, defender of the old guard.
Censoring an iranian love story shahriar mandanipour 2011 the cannon by gholam hossein saidi and faridoun farrokh 2010. Michiko kakutani, the new york times a love story that is convincingly, achingly impossible in a place where men and women cannot even look at each other in. Jun 30, 2009 in fact, at its best, censoring an iranian love story becomes a kind of kunderalike rumination on philosophy and politics, exploring the nervous interface between the public and the private. A love story is contained within it, but solely as a vehicle for the author to write an extended set of stories and personal accounts about life. Censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour. Truly original, censoring an iranian love story is an incredibly imaginative yet always charming love story set in contemporary iran that cr. The story is told by a fictional narrator who is caught between the undeniable urge to write a. The book cover archive, for the appreciation and categorization of excellence in book cover design. Censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour from one of irans most acclaimed and controversial contemporary writers, his first novel to appear in english a dazzlingly inventive work of fiction that opens a revelatory window onto what its like to live, to love, and to be an artist in todays iran.
A familys story of love, captivity, and survival maziar bahari, aimee molloy 2011. Censoring an iranian love story paperback the elliott. May 15, 2015 i second quora users opinion and highly recommend the cambridge history of iran series. Sara falls in love with dara through secret messages hidden in code in the pages of books that have been outlawed, but then something quite extraordinary and unexpected happens. Censoring an iranian love story, by shahriar mandanipour. A writer named shahriarthe authors fictional alter egohas struggled for years against the allpowerful censor at the ministry of. A love story is contained within it, but solely as a vehicle for the author to write an extended set of stories and personal accounts about life in iran, and particularly the censorship of artistic works. In spite of a rich trove of classical works mainly poems, modern iranian literature is less than a hundred years old. Find books like censoring an iranian love story from the worlds largest community of readers. Censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour censoring an iranian love story becomes a kunderalike rumination on philosophy and politics that playfully investigates the possibilities and limits of storytelling. Storytelling and childrens literature a thousand years.
Boy falls in love with girl and writes her coded letters in books. However, if you have paid attention, you will have noticed that i, with that notorious cunning of a writer, have described the scuf. Censoring an iranian love story paperback the elliott bay. Censoring an iranian love story december 18, 2009 the american debut by shahriar mandanipour is a love story, a mystery and an exploration of the political situation in iran. Censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour, translated by sara khalili censoring an iranian love story is unlike any other book ive read. List of iranian and persian short story writers wikipedia. Code switch tell me mores davar ardalan remembers her grandparents, who met in. Goodreads members who liked censoring an iranian love stor. Censoring an iranian love story opens a revelatory window onto what its like to live, to love, and to be an artist in todays iran. Even in the library where they first meet, sara and dara must sit in separate sections one for men, one for women, and dara glimpses nothing more than saras shoes. I suppose it could be compared to the movie within a movie aspect of the princess bride, if the princess bride was, at. Censoring an iranian love story by shahriar mandanipour books. February 2014 this is a list of short story iranian writers either born in iran or holding iranian citizenship, also noniranian persian short story writers and short story writers of iranian descent. I second quora users opinion and highly recommend the cambridge history of iran series.
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