Stories from Iran: A Chicago Anthology, 1921-1991

The first sentence of the first of the 35 translated stories collected here contains an anti-Semitic slur, and this inauspicious beginning is indicative of Moayyad's uncritical editing. A professor of Persian literature at the University of Chicago, he overstates the strengths of the authors he presents, most of whom are interesting for the view they afford of an evolving Iran rather than for their literary techniques. The first Persian short stories, according to Moayyad, were written in 1921 in Berlin; the grafting of traditions to produce social critiques sparked controversy in Iran but may seem heavy-handed or even cliched to contemporary American readers. Often, predictable or melodramatic endings mar otherwise intriguing works. On the other hand, four densely imaginative sketches by Gholam-Hosayn Nazari (b. 1933) and a portrait of a young woman uneasily embracing modernity, by Shahrnush Parsipur (b. 1947), stand out for their originality and well-modulated feeling. (Feb.)