Writing War in Contemporary Iran

Writing War in Contemporary Iran: The Case of Esmil Fasih's The Winter of '83 offers a complete account of Esmil Fasih's life, works, and position in contemporary Iranian literature.

Writing War in Contemporary Iran offers a complete account of Esm'il Fasih's life, works, and position in contemporary Iranian literature. This book uses a text-based analysis of Fasih's wartime novel Zemestn-e 62 (The Winter of '83, 1985) as a case study, and illustrates how the book set a precedent for anti-war novels that appeared in the period following the IranIraq War. Unlike the many one-dimensional novels of the time which focused only on state ideology, Fasih's novel grapples with broader issues, such as the state's war rhetoric and the socio-political realities of life in wartime, including the impact of the War of the Cities on the daily lives of Iranians, government policies and their enactment, and the contribution of the upper class to war efforts. In this vein, The Winter of '83 was the first Persian anti-war novel that was different in that it did not present a glorified or heroic vision of the war and its participants. Furthermore, the book deals with the analysis of Fasih's postwar novels, which emphasized the roles and sacrifices of Iranian women during the wara neglected theme in Persian war novelsmarking him as one of the most culturally important war writers in contemporary Iran.

Autorentext

Saeedeh Shahnahpur is currently a researcher at Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), and has published a number of articles on Iranian literature.

Klappentext

Writing War in Contemporary Iran offers a complete account of Esm il Fasih s life, works, and position in contemporary Iranian literature. This book uses a text-based analysis of Fasih s wartime novel Zemest n-e 62 (The Winter of 83, 1985) as a case study, and illustrates how the book set a precedent for anti-war novels that appeared in the period following the Iran Iraq War. Unlike the many one-dimensional novels of the time which focused only on state ideology, Fasih s novel grapples with broader issues, such as the state s war rhetoric and the socio-political realities of life in wartime, including the impact of the War of the Cities on the daily lives of Iranians, government policies and their enactment, and the contribution of the upper class to war efforts. In this vein, The Winter of 83 was the first Persian anti-war novel that was different in that it did not present a glorified or heroic vision of the war and its participants. Furthermore, the book deals with the analysis of Fasih s postwar novels, which emphasized the roles and sacrifices of Iranian women during the war a neglected theme in Persian war novels marking him as one of the most culturally important war writers in contemporary Iran.

Zusammenfassung
Writing War in Contemporary Iran: The Case of Esma'il Fasih's The Winter of '83 offers a complete account of Esma'il Fasih's life, works, and position in contemporary Iranian literature.

Inhalt

Preface Notes on Translations, Transliterations, and Endnotes System of Transliteration Introduction Esmil Fasih and His Oeuvre Zemestn-e 62: A New Normal in the Persian War Novel Gender and Class Disparity Spatial-Temporal Significance in War Conclusion Bibliography Index of Esmil Fasih's Fictional Works Index of People and Places General Index.