A PERSIAN REQUIEM – SIMIN DANESHVAR
A PERSIAN REQUIEM
Simin Daneshvar
trans. by Roxanne Zand
Paperback, February 2002
£9.99, 279pp, 1 870015 78 9
A Persian Requiem
is a powerful and evocative novel. Set in the northern Persian town of
Shiraz in the last ears of World War II, when the British army occupied
the south of Persia, the novel chronicles the life of Zari, a traditional,
anxious and superstitious woman whose husband, Yusef, is an idealistic
feudal landlord. The occupying army upsets the balance of traditional life
and throws the local people into conflict. Yusef is anxious to protect
those who depend upon him and will stop at nothing to do so. His brother,
on the other hand, thinks nothing of exploiting his kinsmen to further his
own political ambitions. Thus a web of political intrigue and hostilities
is created, which slowly destroys families. In the background, tribal
leaders are in open rebellion against the government, and a picture of a
society torn apart by unrest emerges.
In the midst of this turbulence, normal life carries on in the beautiful
courtyard of Zari’s
house, in the rituals she imposes upon herself and in her attempt to keep
the family safe from external events. But the corruption engendered by
occupation is pervasive –
some try to profit as much as possible from it, others look towards
communism for hope, whilst yet others resort to opium. Finally even Zari’s
attempts to maintain normal family life are shattered as disaster strikes.
An
immensely moving story, A Persian Requiem is also a powerful
indictment of the corrupting effects of colonialization.
A Persian Requiem
(first published in 1969 in Iran under the title Savushan), was the
first novel written by an Iranian woman and, sixteen reprints and half a
million copies later, it remains the most widely read Persian novel. In
Iran it has helped shape the ideas and attitudes of a generation in its
revelation of the factors that contributed to the Islamic Revolution in
1979.
Simin Daneshvar was born into a provincial, middle-class family in Shiraz
in 1921, educated at a missionary school and later at Tehran University.
The comparatively relaxed political environment of the forties in Iran let
her to choose journalism as her first career, and she began writing
fiction at the same time. She subsequently married Jalal Al-e Ahmad, the
leading Iranian intellectual and writer, received her doctorate from
Tehran University and won a Fulbright scholarship to Stanford University.
Upon her return to Iran she became an associate professor of art history
at Tehran University. She was an articulate and outspoken lecturer and her
promotion was hindered by Savak, the secret police.
After her husband’s untimely death in 1969, Daneshvar assumed a leading
role in the Writer’s Association which he had helped found and she
provided moral support for intellectuals opposing the Shah’s regime.
After the Revolution in 1979, she retired from her University post. Since
then, she has kept a low profile whilst continuing to write fiction and
remaining deeply committed to her life-long concern with women and their
role in Iranian society.
‘A superb insight into the Iranian past and the reason why it turned
into the Iranian present.’
John Simpson,
BBC World Affairs
‘Simin
Daneshvar’s A Persian Requiem …goes a long way towards
deepening our understanding of Islam and the events leading up to the 1979
Revolution…The central characters adroitly reflect different Persian
attitudes of the time, attitudes that were eventually to harden into
support for either the Ayatollah and his Islamic fundamentalism or,
alternatively, for the corrupting Westernisation of the Shah. The value of
the book lies in its ability to present these emergent struggles in human
terms, in the day-to-day realities of small-town life … Complex and
delicately crafted, this subtle and ironic book, unites reader and writer
in the knowledge that human weakness, fanaticism, love and terror are not
confined to any one creed.’
Financial
Times
‘A Persian
Requiem is not just a great Iranian novel,
but a world classic.’
The
Independent on Sunday
‘…it would be
no exaggeration to say that all of Iranian life is there.’
Spare
Rib
‘For an English reader, there is almost an
embarrassment of new settings, themes and ideas… Under the guise of
something resembling a family saga – although the period covered is only
a few months – A Persian Requiem teaches many lessons about a
society little understood in the West.'
Rachel
Billington, The Tablet
‘This very human
novel avoids ideological cant while revealing complex political insights,
particularly in light of the 1979 Iranian revolution.’
Publishers
Weekly
‘A Persian
Requiem, originally published [in Iran
] in 1969, was a first novel by Iran
’s first woman novelist. It has seen sixteen
reprints, sold over half a million copies, and achieved the status of a
classic, literally shaping the ideas of a generation. Yet when asked about
the specific appeal of the novel, most readers are at a loss to pinpoint a
single, or even prominent aspect to account for this phenomenal success.
Is it the uniquely feminine perspective, allowing the reader to travel
freely between the microcosm of the family and the larger framework of
society? Is it the actual plot which mimics so presciently the events of
the Islamic Revolution? Or does it lie in the deftly woven anecdotes and
fragments which add up to a descriptive whole? It is each and all of
these, and perhaps more.’
Feminist
Review
‘Daneshvar offers
a fascinating, detailed view of what seems to Western eyes the
complicated, rarified world of Iranian culture.’
Belles
Lettres
‘In addition to being an important literary
document of historical events, [A Persian Requiem]
represents a pioneering attempt to probe the multi-faceted aspects of
Iranian womanhood in a period of great social and political upheaval.’
San
Francisco
Review of Books
‘Daneshvar
combines creative vision with an exceptional talent for conveying
atmosphere to give a powerful portrait of the struggles and dilemmas of
ordinary individuals caught in the maelstrom of war and occupation.’
Middle
East
International
‘This is a
colourful and accurate portrayal of Persian character and spirit, a
beautifully evoked picture of traditional life in times of upheaval. Its
popularity in
British
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
‘A powerful
portrait of a bygone era of Iranian social history.’
The
‘The enthralling tale of a Persian
family set against the background of World War II and the events that
changed the whole region. Not to be missed.’
Shusha
Guppy
‘...a revelation of freshness and
vivacity...’
Anita
Desai
‘Beautifully
translated, and many-layered,
Fred Halliday
‘...a great work by a great Persian
writer.’
Han
Suyin
