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Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Iran [World Cup of Literature: First Round]

This match was judged by Hal Hlavinka. For more info on the World Cup of Literature, read this, and download the bracket. “Welcome on this glorious summer evening to another match in the 2014 World Cup of Literature! We’re here in beautiful Brazil, where Bosnia and Herzegovina faces off against Iran. I’m Chaz ...

Baltic Adventures [Some June 2014 Translations]

June started a few days ago, which means that my rambling monthly overview of forthcoming translations is overdue. It also means that World Cup 2014 is about to start, which means that for the next month my brain will be as filled with soccer tactics and outcomes as literary ideas . . . But sticking with the now: For the ...

Why This Book Should Win: "The Colonel" by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi [BTBA 2013]

As in years past, we will be highlighting all 25 titles on the BTBA Fiction Longlist, one by one, building up to the announcement of the 10 finalists on April 10th. A variety of judges, booksellers, and readers will write these, all under the rubric of “Why This Book Should Win. You can find the whole series by clicking ...

Review of Missing Soluch

Our latest review is of Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s Missing Soluch, which was one of our Top 10 Best Translations of 2007.

Missing Soluch

Despite the fact that Mahmoud Dowlatabadi is considered one of Iran’s greatest writers (according to his Wikipedia entry, “He wrote Kalidar novel which is one of the most important significant of Iranian culture.”), it seems like Missing Soluch slipped through the reviewing cracks when Melville House brought ...

Ben Lytal's Recommendation

From Ben Lytal’s column in the New York Sun But the book that, this year, I have most wanted to recommend is almost totally unknown. “Missing Soluch” (Melville House, 507 pages, $16.95) is Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s first novel translated into English, and it has hardly been reviewed at all. I’ve ...

Iranian Author Mahmoud Dowlatabadi Reviewed in the Sun

The only other place that I’ve come across a reference to Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s Missing Soluch was in the Literary Saloon where Orthofer commented on how it’s gotten basically no attention. Thankfully, Ben Lytal of the New York Sun somewhat rectified the situation. The book sounds pretty interesting in ...