Book Description

In this intimate and tumultuous historical fiction, Iran plays a starring role under a stage name, "Persiran." We engage with its history through three generations of a vividly drawn aristocratic family called the Poonakis, beginning with twin princes who are devoted to each other, and ending in modern times - after the Khomeini revolution - with another set of twin brothers who are mortal enemies. The family - like the monarchy and the fledgling constitution - is doomed, as the clerical vision of building the kingdom of God on Earth prevails. The story has several narrators, whose fates by the end will intersect. The book's title refers to nine critical nights of storytelling - transposed into binary code: 1001, playing on the classic "1001 Nights" of Scheherazade. The episodes of the novel take place in a palace, a mosque, a village, a harem; a tearoom, a whorehouse, a prison. The characters travel through deserts and mountains, to European cities, and even to the battlefront with Iraq. In episodes of comedy and farce, as well as romance and, finally, tragedy, we get to know these compelling characters, including several unforgettable women. Throughout runs an important theme: the storyteller's obligation to tell his stories - the raw ingredients of history.