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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
| Original language | |
| English | |
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OUT OF MESOPOTAMIA
Informed by first-hand experience, Abdoh captures the horror, confusion, and absurdity of combat, from a seldom-glimpsed perspective that expands our understanding of the war novel.
Out of Mesopotamia's narrator, Saleh, is a middle-aged Iranian journalist who moonlights as a writer for one of Iran's most popular TV shows but cannot keep himself away from the front. In Iran, the fight against the Islamic State in neighboring Iraq and Syria is a proxy war, an existential battle, a declaration of faith, and for some, a weekend affair.
After weeks spent dodging RPGs, witnessing acts of savagery and stupidity, Saleh finds returning to his civilian life of Tehran bookstore readings and trendy art openings to be an almost unbearably dislocating experience. Pursued by the woman who broke
his heart, his official handler from state security (who wants him for questioning over a suspicious volume of Proust), and the screenwriters with whom he is supposed to be collaborating, Saleh has reason to flee from everyday life. But not necessarily to discard it.
Surrounded by men whose willingness to achieve martyrdom both fascinates and appalls him, Saleh struggles to make sense of himself and the turmoil that surrounds him. The result is both a quest and a meditation on war that is moving, humane, occasionally funny, and resonantly true.
SALAR ABDOH was born in Iran, and splits his time between Tehran and New York City, where he is codirector of the Creative Writing MFA Program at the City College of New York. He is the author of the novels Tehran at Twilight, The Poet Game, and Opium; and he is the editor of Tehran Noir. His essays and short stories have appeared in various publications, including the New York Times, BOMB, Callaloo, Guernica, and on the BBC. He is the recipient of the NYFA Prize and the National Endowment for the Arts award.
After weeks spent dodging RPGs, witnessing acts of savagery and stupidity, Saleh finds returning to his civilian life of Tehran bookstore readings and trendy art openings to be an almost unbearably dislocating experience. Pursued by the woman who broke
his heart, his official handler from state security (who wants him for questioning over a suspicious volume of Proust), and the screenwriters with whom he is supposed to be collaborating, Saleh has reason to flee from everyday life. But not necessarily to discard it.
Surrounded by men whose willingness to achieve martyrdom both fascinates and appalls him, Saleh struggles to make sense of himself and the turmoil that surrounds him. The result is both a quest and a meditation on war that is moving, humane, occasionally funny, and resonantly true.
SALAR ABDOH was born in Iran, and splits his time between Tehran and New York City, where he is codirector of the Creative Writing MFA Program at the City College of New York. He is the author of the novels Tehran at Twilight, The Poet Game, and Opium; and he is the editor of Tehran Noir. His essays and short stories have appeared in various publications, including the New York Times, BOMB, Callaloo, Guernica, and on the BBC. He is the recipient of the NYFA Prize and the National Endowment for the Arts award.
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Book
Published 2020-09-01 by Akashic Books |