Overview

Introducing ""narrative mobility"" as a new approach in comparative studies of Iran and the US, this book reinterprets the politics and aesthetics of relations between the nations through an analysis of Iranian and American authors. The book focuses specifically on three authors—Simin Daneshvar, Shahriar Mandanipour, and Don DeLillo—who each employ narrative mobility to rethink intercultural negotiation, addressing parallel issues in America and Iran from different, but complementary, perspectives. The book analyzes the employment of parallel narrational techniques, presenting physically and virtually mobile characters who embody their respective countries as they move from one culture to another. The strange affinity between Iran and the US is ultimately revealed by viewing literary works as a ""contact zone"" through which the complicated relations and shared history of the two nations can be renegotiated. On a more theoretical level, the book reflects on the role of literature—in particular the novel as a transnational medium—as a bridge between nations in a period of globalization. With its focus on cross-cultural connections, the book will be of interest to anyone studying or researching comparative literature, US–Iran relations, and cultural studies generally.

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9781032449616

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Reviews

""Written against the backdrop of decades of political hostility between Iran and the US, this study breaks new ground by highlighting convergences of views between American and Iranian writers. In the rich cultural arena Naghmeh Esmaeilpour offers her readers, the seemingly insurmountable divides between the two nations are bridged and overcome."" Nasrin Rahimieh, University of California, Irvine, United States ""Naghmeh Esmaeilpour presents a great scholarly feat here and a true celebration of comparative literature in its finest form. This is a unique incitement for cultural dialogue and understanding between Iran and the United States."" Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS University of London, United Kingdom ""This book focuses on an astonishing topic with astonishing results: the peculiar mixture of love and hate between Iranian and American literatures."" Joseph Vogl, Professor of Modern German Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany

Author Information

Naghmeh Esmaeilpour received her PhD in Comparative Literature at Humboldt University, Berlin. She has published articles in Bloomsbury’s World Literature Series and in U.S. American Culture as Popular Culture. Her research areas include comparative literature, (global) media culture, trans/intermediality, film, game, and narrative studies.

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