Tehran Noir (Akashic Noir)

An Iranian American returns home to help a friend and finds his life in danger: "Remarkable . . . a smart, eloquent novel." #8212;Dalia Sofer, author of The Septembers of Shiraz The year is 2008. Reza Malek's life is modest but manageable#8212;he lives in a small apartment in Harlem, teaches at a local university, and is relieved to be far from the blood and turmoil of Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked as a reporter, interpreter, and sometimes lover for a superstar journalist who has long since moved on to more remarkable men. But after a terse phone call from his best friend in Iran, Reza reluctantly returns to Tehran. Once there, he finds far more than he bargained for: the city is on the edge of revolution; his friend is embroiled with Shia militants; and his missing mother, who was alleged to have run off before the revolution, is alive and well#8212;while his own life is now in danger. Against a backdrop of corrupt clerics, shady fixers, political repression, and the ever-present threat of violence, this novel offers a telling glimpse into contemporary Tehran, and spins a riveting morality tale of identity and exile, the bonds of friendship, and the limits of loyalty. "[A] swift, hard-boiled novel . . . Shadowy zealots exist everywhere, whether in conference rooms or interrogation rooms or#8212;most often#8212;in rooms that can serve as both." #8212; The New York Times Book Review "A gripping portrait of a nation awash in violence and crippled by corruption." #8212; Publishers Weekly "A smart political thriller." #8212;Laila Lalami, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of The Moor's Account "Gives readers a visceral sense of life in a country where repression is the norm . . . Recommended for espionage aficionados and for readers who enjoy international settings." #8212; Library Journal "A fascinating glimpse of contemporary Iran through the familiar story of childhood friends whose paths are beginning to diverge irreversibly." #8212; Shelf Awareness Vali Khalili's story "Fear Is the Best Keeper of Secrets" has been named a finalist for the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award for Best P.I. Short Story! Named a Notable Translation of 2014 by World Literature Today "This entry in Akashic's noir series takes the gritty sensibilities born out of American film and fiction to Tehran." -- Publishers Weekly "A tour de force not to be missed." -- World Literature Today " Tehran Noir is not only a solid crime collection, but an illuminating look into day-to-day life in the Middle East, with religious and political implications galore, as well as racial tensions bubbling just beneath the surface...The stories in Tehran Noir aren't always easy to read, but they are engaging in the extreme." -- San Francisco Book Review "The 15 stories in this collection also come from a stellar and diverse cast of Iranian writers....A collection such as this is able to bring Iran to life for the foreign reader in a way other fiction and non-fiction cannot....Superb." -- PopMatters " Tehran Noir is a worthy addition to Akashic's collection...bloody and beautiful." -- Digging Through the Fat " Tehran Noir will prove fascinating reading to anyone with an interest in Iran. It will be equally intriguing for a reader who is simply curious about a theocratic society in the 21st century, or what became of a vibrant, cosmopolitan society after the fall of its dynastic ruler." -- Gumshoe Review Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir , Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book. Includes brand-new stories Gina B. Nahai, Salar Abdoh, Lily Farhadpour, Azardokht Bahrami, Yourik Karim-Masihi, Vali Khalili, Farhaad Heidari Gooran, Aida Moradi Ahani, Mahsa Mohebali, Majed Neisi, Danial Haghighi, Javad Afhami, Sima Saeedi, Mahak Taheri, and Hossein Abkenar. From the Introduction by Salar "There is something of both the absolutely spectacular and positively disgraceful about Tehran. But most writers around the world are inclined to think that their own sprawling metropolis is the capital of every imaginable vice and crime, of impossible love and tenderness and cruelty and malice in measures that seldom exist anywhere else. For me, Tehran's case is no different--except that there really is a difference here. The city may be a hothouse of decadence, a den of inequity, all that. But it still exists under the watchful eye of a very unique entity, the Islamic Republic. The city enforces its own morality police, and there are regular public hangings of drug dealers and thieves. Because of this, there is a raging sense of a split personality about the place--the imposed propriety of the mosque rubbing against the hidden (and more often not so hidden) rhythms of the real city... There is always an element of the end of the world about this place. A feeling of being once removed from the edge of the precipice. Elsewhere I have called it the "Seismic City"--the seismic sanctuary. All of this will end one day. Yes. And maybe sooner than later. And when it does, by God, we will miss it." "Swift, hard-boiled novel...Shadowy zealots exist everywhere, whether in conference rooms or interrogation rooms or?most often?in rooms that can serve as both." ? New York Times Book Review "Abdoh paints a gripping portrait of a nation awash in violence and crippled by corruption....Captivating." ? Publishers Weekly "Abdoh...gives readers a visceral sense of life in a country where repression is the norm, someone is always watching, and your past is never really past. Recommended for espionage aficionados and for readers who enjoy international settings." ? Library Journal "A fascinating glimpse of contemporary Iran through the familiar story of childhood friends whose paths are beginning to diverge irreversibly." ? Shelf Awareness "A penetrating look into contemporary Tehran." ? Kirkus Reviews "Salar Abdoh is an acute observer of the patterns, flaws, and simple beauties of everyday life...[ Tehran at Twilight is] an unpretentious, cross-cultural political thriller that rings true in the way only a skillfully crafted novel can." ? San Francisco Book Review "Abdoh's restraint with the brutality in present-day Iran in no way tamps down the adrenalin that keeps his characters in action...Goodness and mercy eventually carry the day, within limits, and this relatively new author may already have potential readers looking forward to his next novel." ? The Buffalo News "New history and a fresh take on the same old dirty tricks result in a clever and compelling tale." ? The National (UAE) "Abdoh is superb... Tehran at Twilight is an impressive work of fiction...Abdoh's talent is obvious from the first scene in the story until the bittersweet end." ? CounterPunch Magazine "Abdoh's Iran is a place where the question isn't if one has been complicit, but rather the extent of one's complicity." ? What If Knits Included in Library Journal 's "Books That Buzzed at BEA" Roundup, the first word on titles and trends from Barbara Hoffert , Editor "Abdoh deftly captures the uneasy atmosphere of 2008 Tehran, swirling with betrayal and corruption." ? Library Journal , Books for the Masses/Editors' Picks BEA 2014 The year is 2008. Reza Malek's life is modest but manageable?he lives in a small apartment in Harlem, teaches "creative reportage" at a local university, and is relieved to be far from the blood and turmoil of Iraq and Afghanistan where he worked as a reporter, interpreter, and sometime lover for a superstar journalist who has long since moved on to more remarkable men. After a terse phone call from his best friend in Iran, Sina Vafa, Reza reluctantly returns to Tehran. Once there, he finds far more than he bargained for: the city is on the edge of revolution; his friend Sina is embroiled with Shia militants; his missing mother, who was alleged to have run off with a lover before the revolution, is alive and well?while his own life is in danger. Against a backdrop of corrupt clerics, shady fixers, political repression, and the ever-present threat of violence, Abdoh offers a telling glimpse into contemporary Tehran, and spins a compelling morality tale of identity and exile, the bonds of friendship, and the limits of loyalty Crime fiction set in Iran—including a finalist for the Shamus Award for Best PI Short Story. “Tehran Noir is not only a solid crime collection, but an illuminating look into day-to-day life in the Middle East, with religious and political implications galore, as well as racial tensions bubbling just beneath the surface.... The stories in Tehran Noir aren't always easy to read, but they are engaging in the extreme.” —San Francisco Book Review Includes brand-new stories by Gina B. Nahai, Salar Abdoh, Lily Farhadpour, Azardokht Bahrami, Yourik Karim-Masihi, Vali Khalili, Farhaad Heidari Gooran, Aida Moradi Ahani, Mahsa Mohebali, Majed Neisi, Danial Haghighi, Javad Afhami, Sima Saeedi, Mahak Taheri, and Hossein Abkenar. “A stellar and diverse cast of Iranian writers.... A collection such as this is able to bring Iran to life for the foreign reader in a way other fiction and non-fiction cannot.... Superb.” —PopMatters This Entry In Akashic's Noir Series Takes The Gritty Sensibilities Born Out Of American Film And Fiction To Tehran. The Fat, Fat Story Of The Fat City / Danial Haghighi -- Fear Is The Best Keeper Of Secrets / Vali Khalili -- A Woman's Geography Is Sacred / Lily Farhadpour -- The Shelf Life Of Revenge / Sima Saeedi -- The Corpse Fixer / Majed Neisi -- Lariyan's Day In The Sun / Aida Moradi Ahani -- The Whitest Set Of Teeth In Tehran / Salar Abdoh -- The Restlessness Of A Serial Killer At The Finish Line / Javad Afhami -- My Own Marble Jesus / Mahsa Mohebali -- In The Flophouse / Farhaad Heidari Gooran -- A Stoning Before Breakfast / Azardokht Bahrami -- Bridge Of Simon / Yourik Karim-masihi -- Not Every Bullet Is Meant For A King / Hossein Abkenar -- The Groom's Return / Mahak Taheri -- The Graverdiggers Kaddish / Gina B. Hanai. Edited And Translated By Salar Abdoh. Iranian ex-pat Reza Malek's quiet professorial life is upended when he returns to Tehran to help his best friend Sina Vava who is involved with Shia militants -- Friendship, betrayal, and international intrigue populate this brilliant novel in the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carré