Name: Women Without Men
Rating: 3.416666666666667 (12 reviews)
ISBN: 9780815605522

Shahrnush Parsipur

Shahrnūsh Pārsī{u2032}pūr

An examination of the mistreatment of women in modern Iran follows the stories of five women whose individual circumstances lead them to the same garden for solace and freedom

A Novella

Women Without Men

A Novel of Modern Iran

read as part of the 2026 international booker prize longlist. i usually only tune in for the shortlist but theres multiple works for this year that caught my eye, so i figured i should start reading early :^]

this was a harrowing read but also not. i guess its because of the magical realism in it that kind of pads the more jarring moments sprinkled in the book, but some moments are leaning more in the ‘realism’ rather than ‘magical realism’ which kinda took me out. i was more used to works like perfume by suskind in that genre. but i guess it struck more real to me as a woman lol.

pretty solid read but i dont think its a contender for the shortlist much less for the final prize itself for me.

Nica

read as part of the 2026 international booker prize longlist. i usually only tune in for the shortlist but theres multiple works for this year that caught my eye, so i figured i should start reading early :^]

this was a harrowing read but also not. i guess its because of the magical realism in it that kind of pads the more jarring moments sprinkled in the book, but some moments are leaning more in the ‘realism’ rather than ‘magical realism’ which kinda took me out. i was more used to works like perfume by suskind in that genre. but i guess it struck more real to me as a woman lol.

pretty solid read but i dont think its a contender for the shortlist much less for the final prize itself for me.

investing read. although i found it to be straddling between pessimism and encouraging, i think the characters were very interesting and the magical realism really tied the themes together. i had a lot to think about! 

kate 

Shahrnūsh Pārsīʹpūr

A modern literary masterpiece, Women Without Men creates an evocative and powerfully drawn allegory of life in contemporary Iran. With a tone that is as stark and bold, yet magical, as its elegantly drawn settings and characters, internationally acclaimed writer Shahrnush Parsipur follows the interwoven destinies of five women -- including a prostitute, a wealthy middle-aged housewife, and a schoolteacher -- as they arrive, by many different paths, to live in a garden on the outskirts of Tehran. Reminiscent of a wry fable and drawing on elements of Islamic mysticism and recent Iranian history, Women Without Men depicts women escaping the narrow precincts of family and society -- only to face daunting new challenges. Shortly after the novel's 1989 publication, Parsipur was arrested and jailed for her frank and defiant portrayal of women's sexuality. Though still banned in Iran, this national best-seller was eventually translated into several languages, delighting new readers with the witty and subversive work of a brilliant Persian writer. Book jacket.

Eva Ströberg

This little book is banned in Iran.

The book tells the story of four women in Iran in the late 70s, right before the war. The sexism, the chauvinism, the misogyny, all in one, although I doubt that it changes much from there to now.

The women somehow ended up without men, whether they wanted or not and for some, it made their lives better. There's an element of magic and poetry in this book that one must take account of, but I felt miserable throughout my reading, not because the book or the story telling was bad, but because I felt how horrible it was to live as a woman there in that time and era.

I read the book in Danish and there's a little note in the back from the translator about how she translated the book from Persian to Danish and I believe she's done a fantastic job.

The most I have ever enjoyed magical realism, and favorite thing I’ve read yet out of Iran

Margo Koss

Safiya 

It was a surreal novella thay felt to some extent as a fairytale but a realist one.
Women as in the title are a recurrent theme and topic, their struggle, the oppression, and different journeys...
A sudden Sufi swerve takes place at the midst of he novella and gives it another layer of exotica...

I enjoyed reading this one, really.

Women Without Men A Novella

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