The most populous Islamic country in the Middle East, Iran is rife with contradictions, in many ways caught between the culture and governments of the Western--more dominant and arguably imperalist--world and the ideology of conservative fundamentalist Islam. This book explores the present-day writings of authors who explore these oppositional forces, often finding a middle course between the often brutal and demonizing rhetoric from both sides. To combat how the West has falsely generalized and stereotyped Iran, and how Iran has falsely generalized and stereotyped the West, Iranian and diasporic writers deconstruct Western caricatures of Iran and Iranian caricatures of the West. In so doing, they provide especially valuable insights into life in Iran today and into life in the West for diasporic Iranians.

Table of Contents


Introduction

1.¿The Personal and the Political: Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

deleteand Persepolis 2

2.¿Muslims and Jews in Contemporary Iran: Dalia Sofer's

deleteThe Septembers of Shiraz

3.¿The Iranian-American Exile and the Exiled Iranian:

deletePorochista Khakpour's Sons and Other Flammable Objects

4.¿Savior or Villain? The Case of Azar Näsi's Reading Lolita

deletein Tehran

5.¿Next Generation Iranian-American Memoir Writers:

deleteAzadeh Moaveni and Firoozeh Dumas

6.¿From Inside the Walls of Evin Prison: Contemporary Iranian

deletePrison Narratives

7.¿Censorship in Iran: Shahriar Mandanipour's Censoring

deleteIranian Love Story

8.¿Contemporary Iranian and Iranian Diasporic Poetry

9.¿Alternative Means of Communication: Iranian Blogs

Conclusion

Chapter Notes

Works Cited

Index

Daniel Grassian lives in California.