A Novel of Modern Iran
Author: Shahrnush Parsipur
Foreword: Shirin Neshat
Translation: Faridoun Farrokh
Publisher: The Feminist Press at the University of New York
Pages: 122
Publication date: 2011
ISBN: 9781558617537
About the book
Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur is a modern Persian novel that blends realism with elements of magical storytelling to portray the inner lives of five women in mid-twentieth-century Iran. Each character escapes a different form of restriction — social expectation, family pressure, or personal trauma — and their paths gradually converge in a garden outside the city, a space that becomes both refuge and transformation.
Set against the political atmosphere surrounding the 1953 coup, the novel does not focus on events directly but reflects how larger historical forces shape private lives. Dreams, surreal moments, and everyday details exist side by side, creating a narrative where emotional truth matters more than strict realism.
Parsipur’s writing explores autonomy, desire, friendship, and the search for dignity within a society structured by limits. Both intimate and symbolic, the novel has become one of the most influential works of modern Persian literature, offering readers a layered portrait of women seeking agency and belonging.