Yassaman Montazami

Biography

Yassaman Montazami, born in Tehran in 1971, immigrated to France in 1974. She studied psychology and obtained a PhD in psychoanalysis. Montazami worked with political refugees and taught at the University of Paris VII. She currently works in a Paris hospital. The most beautiful day is her first novel, for which she was awarded the Prix'ambule readers' prize.

Last Released

The most beautiful day

In her debut autobiographical novel, Yassaman Montazami tells the story of her father Bechrus, a Marxist intellectual who, as a “true revolutionary”, does not work for a living but devotes himself to his dissertation on Karl Marx. Political refugees from Iran - from the radical left to the bourgeois wife of a high-ranking military officer - find a place to stay in the Paris apartment. Bechrus' travels to his homeland sketch a portrait of the country's history from the Shah's rule to the Islamic revolution and the time up to his death in 2006. After separating from his wife Zarah, Bechrus returns to Iran and finds himself confronted with the fate of his former comrades. Seriously ill, he returns to Paris, where Yassaman accompanies him in his last days.

Translated from the French by Jutta Himmelreich

Interested in our newsletter?