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The Heart's Desire
Jennifer Sahary, an American artist, and her husband Karim, a professor and Iranian immigrant, make an extended visit to Teheran shortly after the Iran-Iraq war, encountering unforeseen dangers and sexual temptations that change the course of their lives.
When their young son is taken by his grandmother to the holy city of Qom without Jennifer's knowledge, she sets out to find him, learning much about Iran, and about herself, along the way. And as Karim renews contact with his family and surveys the misery and needs of his war-torn country, he begins to question where he can best achieve his ideals.
When their young son is taken by his grandmother to the holy city of Qom without Jennifer's knowledge, she sets out to find him, learning much about Iran, and about herself, along the way. And as Karim renews contact with his family and surveys the misery and needs of his war-torn country, he begins to question where he can best achieve his ideals.
- GenresFictionIranMiddle East
198 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1995
About the author
Nahid Rachlin
19 books479 followersBooks by Nahid Rachlin: nahidr@rcn.com
http://www.amazon.com/Nahid-
Nahid Rachlin went to Columbia University Writing Program on a Doubleday-Columbia Fellowship and then went on to Stanford University MFA program on a Stegner Fellowship. Her publications include a memoir, PERSIAN GIRLS (Penguin), four novels, JUMPING OVER FIRE (City Lights), FOREIGNER (W.W. Norton), MARRIED TO A STRANGER (E.P.Dutton-Penguin), THE HEART'S DESIRE (City Lights), and a collection of short stories, VEILS (City Lights). CROWD OF SORROWS, (Kindle Singles).
You can listen to my reading of three flash-fiction stories at https://soundcloud.com/roommagazine/t...
Her individual short stories have appeared in more than fifty magazines, including The Virginia Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, Redbook, Shenandoah. One of her stories was adopted by Symphony Space, “Selected Shorts,” and was aired on NPR’s around the country and two stories were nominated for Pushcart Prize. Her work has received favorable reviews in major magazines and newspapers and translated into Portuguese, Polish, Italian, Dutch, German, Arabic, and Persian. She has been interviewed in NPR stations such as All Things Considered (Terry Gross), P&W magazine, Writers Chronicle. She has written reviews and essays for New York Times, Newsday, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Other grants and awards she has received include the Bennet Cerf Award, PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. She has taught creative writing at Barnard College, Yale University and at a wide variety of writers conferences, including Paris Writers Conference, Geneva Writers Conference, and Yale Writers Conference. She has been judge for several fiction awards and competitions, among them, Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction (2015) sponsored by AWP, Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award sponsored by Poets & Writers, Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize, University of Maryland, English Dept, Teichmann Fiction Prize, Barnard College, English Dept. For more please click on her website: website: http://www.nahidrachlin.com
http://www.amazon.com/Nahid-
Nahid Rachlin went to Columbia University Writing Program on a Doubleday-Columbia Fellowship and then went on to Stanford University MFA program on a Stegner Fellowship. Her publications include a memoir, PERSIAN GIRLS (Penguin), four novels, JUMPING OVER FIRE (City Lights), FOREIGNER (W.W. Norton), MARRIED TO A STRANGER (E.P.Dutton-Penguin), THE HEART'S DESIRE (City Lights), and a collection of short stories, VEILS (City Lights). CROWD OF SORROWS, (Kindle Singles).
You can listen to my reading of three flash-fiction stories at https://soundcloud.com/roommagazine/t...
Her individual short stories have appeared in more than fifty magazines, including The Virginia Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, Redbook, Shenandoah. One of her stories was adopted by Symphony Space, “Selected Shorts,” and was aired on NPR’s around the country and two stories were nominated for Pushcart Prize. Her work has received favorable reviews in major magazines and newspapers and translated into Portuguese, Polish, Italian, Dutch, German, Arabic, and Persian. She has been interviewed in NPR stations such as All Things Considered (Terry Gross), P&W magazine, Writers Chronicle. She has written reviews and essays for New York Times, Newsday, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Other grants and awards she has received include the Bennet Cerf Award, PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. She has taught creative writing at Barnard College, Yale University and at a wide variety of writers conferences, including Paris Writers Conference, Geneva Writers Conference, and Yale Writers Conference. She has been judge for several fiction awards and competitions, among them, Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction (2015) sponsored by AWP, Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award sponsored by Poets & Writers, Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize, University of Maryland, English Dept, Teichmann Fiction Prize, Barnard College, English Dept. For more please click on her website: website: http://www.nahidrachlin.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 12, 2022
Dec 12, 1245am ~~ Review asap.
245pm ~~ In this 1995 novel, Nahid Rachlin takes us to Iran in 1989, after the end of the Iran-Iraq war. She explores once again how differences between cultures can change the paths of people's lives.
Jennifer Sahary is an American woman married to an Iranian man. They met In college in America, and have a young son. They have returned to Iran now that travel is possible again, and are staying in Karim's childhood home for a planned two-month visit.
There are a lot of forces at work on our characters in this book, and it is hard to talk about them without giving much away or revealing the apparent overall outcome.
So I will just say that this book is an intense exploration of the clashing of two cultures. Very much worth reading, and sure to spark discussion.
245pm ~~ In this 1995 novel, Nahid Rachlin takes us to Iran in 1989, after the end of the Iran-Iraq war. She explores once again how differences between cultures can change the paths of people's lives.
Jennifer Sahary is an American woman married to an Iranian man. They met In college in America, and have a young son. They have returned to Iran now that travel is possible again, and are staying in Karim's childhood home for a planned two-month visit.
There are a lot of forces at work on our characters in this book, and it is hard to talk about them without giving much away or revealing the apparent overall outcome.
So I will just say that this book is an intense exploration of the clashing of two cultures. Very much worth reading, and sure to spark discussion.
February 19, 2011
As usual every word is exactly where it should be. The story is bittersweet and ultimately sad.
Read
April 16, 2008An American women marries and Iranian man. The problems she encounters when cultures clash.
September 5, 2022
This was just flat. None of the characters felt real.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews