Description

Shohre promotes an old woman whose daughter is in prison for standing up to her overbearing boss; Shohre's neighbor was left by her husband for a younger woman; her cousin, who is also divorced, is in despair because her ex-husband refuses to allow her to visit their daughter. Despite disappointments, Shohre himself does not give up.

Reading sample:

"I still think about Mahbube. The car door is open. With the wheel cross in hand, I set about unscrewing the wheel. A group of women in triangular headscarves walk past me, howling in lamentation. Some who are not howling and wailing stare at me in amazement. I step on the wheel spider with my foot to make it turn and loosen the nuts. My back hurts. Some young guys are leaning against trees and laughing up their sleeves. One says: I'll give you my number. Call if you need help.

Another says: If you promise to take me home, I'll screw it off you.

I hit the next punch so hard that my back hurts even more. And that the jack falls out from under the car. Only now does it occur to me that I should have loosened the nuts first. The laughter of the young guys now draws the attention of the few who hadn't noticed me before. For a moment I have the feeling that I am not in a cemetery but at a performance. A performance for which the spirit of my father, who is buried not far from here, also sticks his head out of the grave and watches me. The day I became a taxi driver, my mother said: Within four years you will regret it. When no man gets involved with you."

Reviews:

Djahani describes the path of her protagonist in a very clear and easy-going style and skillfully maneuvers her through the social labyrinth. Due to Shohre's constant mobility and the novel's staff, who keep changing due to work, Djahani is able to depict a great deal of social diversity without it coming across as artificial or forced. A clever trick that allows the novel to glide smoothly through bumpy roads. more

– Marion (@read wrong)

This novel shows us how a young writer after the Islamic revolution, despite all reprisals, censorship and the pressure of self-censorship, finds a way, through the power of language, to portray the protagonist Schohre as an example of how women in Iran assert themselves in patriarchal structures . Just as the language asserts itself and ultimately even self-censorship cannot harm it, the women in Iran also assert themselves: they assert themselves. more

– Jalal Rostami Goran von Goethe & Hafis

The novel allows a glimpse behind the scenes of a country about which many clichés circulate, but of which few in Europe have a realistic picture [...] more

– Gerrit Wustmann, 06.12.2021, Quaranta.de

Writing is always a conversation. It transcends the boundaries of space and time. This is how Sohre tells us her story: sometimes humorous or angry, also ironic, sometimes bitter, but by no means powerless. more

– Fahimeh Farsaie, 12.08.2021, IranJournal