Review of Djafari, Nassir:
The Big Cousin: a novel
1st edition. – Bremen: Sujet Verlag, 2024. – 249
Pages ; 19cm
ISBN 978–3‑96202–136‑8 Paperback: EUR 19.80
The Frankfurt development aid entrepreneur Abbas's job takes him to many parts of the world
World. His life takes place in a wealthy middle-class environment, his German is good
perfect, he speaks his native Persian much worse. The only connection
His origins include his increasingly demented father, who he sees in the nursing home every week
visited. Then an unknown cousin shows up at his house and takes over his life
messes up. The young man appears, then disappears again without a trace
tells a new story every time. Abbas wants the unwanted visitor out
keep away from his well-ordered life, but becomes more and more entangled in it
Fate. Saving him, despite all the contradictions, becomes his obsession
everything else is subordinated. Gradually, the unbearable situation becomes clear to Abbas,
which forces young Iranians to leave their homeland and start anew abroad.
From the first page it is a breathlessly exciting novel that deals with the situation in Iran, escape,
Exile and, last but not least, the power of family ties are negotiated.
a review from the ekz library service
written by Daniela Neuenfeld-Zvolsky
