Bahiyyih Nakhjavani

Gossip was rife in the capital about the poetess of Qazvin. Some claimed she had been arrested for masterminding the murder of the grand Mullah, her uncle. Others echoed her words, and passed her poems from hand to hand. Everyone spoke of her beauty, and her dazzling intelligence. But most alarming to the Shah and the court was how the poetess could read. As her warnings and predictions became prophecies fulfilled, about the assassination of the Shah, the hanging of the Mayor, and the murder of the Grand Vazir, many wondered whether she was not only reading history but writing it as well. Was she herself guilty of the crimes she was foretelling? Set in the world of the Qajar monarchs, mayors, ministers, and mullahs, this book explores the dangerous and at the same time luminous legacy left by a remarkable person. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani offers a gripping tale that is at once a compelling history of a pioneering woman, a story of nineteenth century Iran told from the street level up, and a work that is universally relevant to our times.

A Novel

The Woman Who Read Too Much

A beautifully told, transcendent tale of truth, salvation, and the power of desire. "Nakhjavani's robust debut is a Chaucerian rondo . . . [with a style] familiar from . . . early Salman Rushdie." —James Urquhart, The London Times

A Fable for Doubters and Seekers

The Saddlebag

La donna che leggeva troppo

Téhéran, seconde moitié du XIXe siècle : la cour du shah fourmille d'intrigues de palais, complots et autres tentatives d'assassinat, sous le regard cruel de la mère du souverain... Ce très ancien royaume va se trouver ébranlé par l'irruption d'une poétesse fort lettrée dont les vers et les propos semblent agir sur quiconque en prend connaissance comme de puissants catalyseurs d'énergies subversives — voire hérétiques. A travers la figure de Tahirih Qurratu'l-Ayn, qui osa, en femme libre et en exceptionnelle rhétoricienne, affronter les tenants du pouvoir de son temps, Bahiyyih Nakhjavani met en scène les enjeux éternels de la liberté d'expression quand elle s'oppose aux puissants comme aux dogmes religieux. Entrecroisant magistralement l'Histoire, la religion, l'art et la question de la condition féminine, ce roman propose une réflexion d'une indéniable actualité, servie par une langue étincelante.

La femme qui lisait trop

Ao contrário do que se diz, o deserto é um território fértil. Ao menos para Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, que, a partir de uma trama complexa, faz convergir nas areias árabes um grupo de personagens que têm suas trajetórias costuradas por um misterioso alforje. Uma noiva que viaja para encontrar o futuro marido, um padre em peregrinação, um beduíno de alma livre e uma escrava falacha são alguns dos retratos que a autora pinta com maestria e profundidade. Ainda que tenham origens, crenças e desejos muito diferentes, todos os viajantes terão a vida transformada pelas escrituras sagradas.

O alforje

Quando Lili e Goli têm que lidar com sua mãe, Bibi, os problemas de sua família começam a vir à tona. Segredos, verdades inoportunas e mentiras de ocasião se sobrepõem à medida que a história avança, deixando a trama instigante e revelando nuances das personagens, que nunca são aquilo que conhecemos primeiro. Neste Nós e eles, Bahiyyih Nakhjavani apresenta as fragmentações da diáspora iraniana em três gerações de uma família e todas as suas conexões de afetos e desafetos espalhadas pelo mundo. Os conflitos sobre quem deve cuidar da mãe obrigam as irmãs Lili e Goli a lidar com as obscuras finanças da família no presente, relações com o passado, uma meia-irmã deslocada e, sobretudo, com o desaparecimento de seu irmão mais novo, o qual Bibi vive a esperar. Narrado na primeira pessoa do plural, esse “nós” que tenta a todo o momento se distanciar de um “eles”, por fim nos mostra que o verdadeiro exílio é ser indiferente ao outro.

Nós e eles

Us&Them

A tantalising tale of what befalls nine different individuals travelling the desert route between Mecca and Medina in the middle of the nineteenth century, as they encounter a mysterious saddlebag that changes each of their lives. It seems a perfectly ordinary saddlebag when the Thief steals it from a Pilgrim; but what are its contents, so precious and so powerful that they can wreak death or joy, ruin or salvation? 'Like CATCH 22 and THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, when you finish reading Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's debut novel, you wonder how on earth she is ever going to be able to follow it up, such is the uniqueness of its form, the precise simplicity of its language and the vaguely unsettling nature of its premise' BIG ISSUE

Collectif

Parisa Reza

Sahar Delijani

Fariba Vafi

Nasim Marashi

Fahimeh Farsaie

Rana Soleimani

Asieh Nezam shahidi

Sorour Kasmaï

Zahra Khanloo

Azar Mahloujian

Aida Moradi ahani

Que signifie être une femme aujourd’hui en Iran ? Quelle place occupe-t-elle dans une société régie depuis plus de quatre décennies par une théocratie totalitaire exclusivement masculine ? Quelles sont les raisons de la colère qui a embrasé le pays depuis le 16 septembre 2022, le jour où la jeune Mahsa Jina Amini a succombé aux coups de la police des mœurs ? À l’invitation de Sorour Kasmaï, douze autrices iraniennes racontent dans ce recueil, sous des formes diverses, ce qu’évoquent pour elles les trois mots qui résonnent depuis : FEMME, VIE, LIBERTÉ. En soutien à celles et ceux qui se sont insurgés avec tant de courage contre la tyrannie, voici donc douze histoires, douze voix qui viennent s’unir au cri de cette révolte qui ne s’éteint pas. Pour qu’on ne l’oublie pas. Ont participé à ce recueil : Sahar Delijani, Fahimeh Farsaie, Sorour Kasmaï, Zahra Khanloo, Azar Mahloujian, Nasim Marashi, Aida Moradi Ahani, Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, Asieh Nezam Shahidi, Parisa Reza, Rana Soleimani et Fariba Vafi. Les bénéfices des ventes de cet ouvrage seront reversés à une association.

12 histoires inédites

Femme, Rêve, Liberté

Lili and Goli have argued endlessly about where their mother, Bibijan, should live since the Iranian Revolution. They disagree about her finances too, which remain blocked as long as she insists on waiting for her son—still missing but not presumed dead yet—to return from the Iran–Iraq war. But once they begin to "share" the old woman, sending her back and forth between Paris and Los Angeles, they start asking themselves where the money might be coming from. Only their Persian half-sister in Iran and the Westernized granddaughter of the family have the courage to face up to the answers, and only when Bibijan finally relinquishes the past can she remember the truth. A story mirrored in fragmented lives, Us&Them explores the ludicrous and the tragic, the venal and the generous-hearted aspects of Iranian life away from home. It is a story both familial and familiar in its generational tensions and misunderstandings, its push and pull of obligations and expectations. It also highlights how "we" can become "them" at any moment, for our true exile is alienation from others. Acclaimed author Bahiyyih Nakhjavani offers a poignant satire about migration, one of the vital issues of our times.

Bahiyyih Nakhjavani

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