Hedayat’s Animals: The Blind Owl and Other Stories
Posted by: Muhannad Salhi
Sadegh Hedayat (1903-1951) was one of Iran’s most prolific post-modernist writers in the first half of the 20th century. He has often been called the “Iranian Kafka,” since many of his stories discuss surrealist themes, dealing with existential angst and nightmarish situations. This blog discusses Hedayat’s most famous works, such as his opus magnum, the Blind Owl, published in 1937. Other novels mentioned in the blog are famous in Iranian pop culture (such as Dash Akol which was made into a movie in the 1970s), while nonfiction works are related to his research on Iranian folklore and mythology. The title of the blog “Hedayat’s Animals” refers to the numerous animal characters found in his stories from his lifelong love of animals.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Near East Section