Riding Free through Kermanschah

 

Most of the contemporary Iranian books published in translation are usually set in big cities, particularly the capital city of Tehran, or Isfahan or Shiraz. I don´t remember any book set in Kermanshah, for instance, a Western city, over 500 km. away from the capital city. With a population of almost one million, it is the largest Kurdish-speaking city in Iran, that played an important role in deciding the fate of the Iran-Iraq war, but also an oil-rich location.

Ungebremst durch Kermanschah/Unbraked through Kermanschah, but with a smart words game can be also translated as Uninhibited/Free through Kermanschah - by Maryam Djahani - translated into German by Isabel Stümpel - is centered around the story of a woman from a Kurdish family, Shohre, that chosed to be a taxi driver. A divorcee, she lives together with her niece and is experiencing the prejudices against her professional choice.

The book is written asn an account of Shohre´s daily experiences, therefore a direct testimony of her condition. It is intimate and personal while making the reader her partner in the story. There are the usual mentions of inequality status for women and - at least - frequent verbal abuse, especially when chosing to do a job as a taxi driver, usually assigned to a man. At a very much extent predictable, although the women struggle are moderately described, and there are no political references and harassment by the religious police, as the author still lives and publishes in Iran. Definitely not the critics against society makes someone a good writer, but my problem with this book is that the story is average and so are the characters. I didn´t expect them to be heroic or extreme, after all, most of us are everyday people. However, I felt that the characters in this book are like shades of the paper cuts. No personality, no strength and doing what it is expected from them to do. 

Maryam Djahani, herself from a Kurdish family, was born in Kermanshah. Ungebremst durch Kermanschah is her debut novel. I am curious about other Iranian authors featuring other urban and non-urban areas. Hopefully, with more appealing literary achievements.

Rating: 2.5 stars