Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran by Shahrnush Parsipur


Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran
Title : Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1558614524
ISBN-10 : 9781558614529
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 192
Publication : First published January 1, 1973

Shortly after the 1989 publication of Women Without Men in her native Iran, Shahrnush Parsipur was arrested and jailed for her frank and defiant portrayal of women’s sexuality. Now banned in Iran, this small masterpiece was eventually translated into several languages and introduces U.S. readers to the work of a brilliant Persian writer. With a tone that is stark, and bold, Women Without Men creates an evocative allegory of life for contemporary Iranian women. In the interwoven destinies of five women, simple situations such as walking down a road or leaving the house become, in the tumult of post-WWII Iran, horrific and defiant as women escape the narrow confines of family and society only to face daunting new challenges.

Now in political exile, Shahrnush Parsipur lives in the Bay Area. She is the author of several short story collections including Touba and the Meaning of Night.


Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran Reviews


  • Ahmad Sharabiani

    Women without Men (‎Syracuse‬: ‎Syracuse university Press‬, ‎1998), Shahrnush Parsipur

    Five women set out to escape the oppressive restrictions of family and social life in contemporary Iran.

    A prostitute, a wealthy, middle-aged housewife, two seemingly desperate "old maids, " and a woman whose career ended after her boss asked her out share a common quest for independence that may be fulfilled in a garden villa.

    Through murder, suicide, even rape, as well as love, contemplation, and spiritual transformation, these women escape the narrow confines of family and society, only to face new challenges.

    تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه مارس سال1989میلادی

    عنوان: زنان بدون مردان؛ نویسنده: شهرنوش پارسی پور؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، نشر قطره، سال1368، در140ص؛ چاپ دوم سال1368؛ چاپ دیگر سوئد، باران، سال1370، در140ص؛ چاپ دیگر تورنتو، افرا: پگاه، سال1378، در140ص، شابک1894256042؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایران - سده20م

    دستهایم را در باغچه میکارم؛ ...؛ داستان، برداشتی از شعر «وهم سبز» روانشاد «فروغ فرخزاد» است (و البته جایی نیز اشارتی دارند)...؛ لابد همه میدانند، که بانوی کارگردان «شیرین نشاط»، فیلمی از همین کتاب، ساخته؛ و برنده ی جایزه «شیر نقره ای ونیز» نیز شده است

    نقل از کتاب، حرفهای مونس: (به فکر من زده بود، بروم به «هند» و «چین و ماچین»، دنیا را ببینم؛ خودم همه چیز را بفهمم، و درک کنم، و هی ننشینم، تا دیگران برایم بگویند: ال است و بل است، و گولم بزنند، و خرم کنند، و عمرم به سر برود، و به اندازه ی یک گاو نفهمیده باشم؛ البته میگویند خوشبخت آنکه کره خر آمد، و الاغ رفت...)؛ پایان نقل

    تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 02/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 27/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

  • Peiman E iran

    ‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب از 15 داستان تشکیل شده که برخی از آنها به یکدیگر مرتبط هستند و داستان ها بیشتر حول محورِ «پردۀ بکارت» در زنان و دل نگرانی هایِ آنها در این مورد، میچرخد... به انتخاب قسمتهایی را برایِ شما عزیزان در زیر مینویسم
    --------------------------------------------
    ‎چه میشد اگر مهدخت هزار دست داشت و هفته ایی پانصد بلوز میبافت؟؟ با هر دو دست یک دانه، هزار دست پانصد دانه.... ولی خوب آدم که پانصد دست نمیتواند داشته باشد، آنهم مهدخت که زمستان را دوست داشت... حالا اگر قرار باشد آدم هزار عدد دستکش دستش کند، پنج ساعت حداقل طول میکشد... چشم دولت کور، خودش برود کارخانۀ بافندگی راه بیاندازد
    *******************
    ‎مهدخت: «بکارتِ» من مثل یک درخت است، شاید برایِ همین است که من سبزم... خوب من تخم که نیستم، درختم.. باید خودم را نشاء کنم
    *******************
    ‎مونس گفت: «بکارت» یک پرده است.. خانم جان میگه، دختر اگر از بلندی بپرد، «بکارتش» صدمه میبیند، پرده است، ممکن است پاره شود
    *******************
    ‎فائزه در جواب به مونس میگوید: این حرفها چیست؟! «بکارت» یک سوراخ است، ولی تنگ است، بعد گشاد میشود... در کتاب خوندم، من خیلی میخونم... «بکارت» یک سوراخ است
    *******************
    ‎مونس 28 سال از زندگیش به او گفته بودند که «بکارت» یک پرده است که هر دختری که آن را نداشته باشد، خدا او را نمیبخشد!!!... حال دو شب و سه روز بود که فائزه به او گفته بود که «بکارت» پرده نیست و سوراخ است...خشمِ سردی تنِ مونس را پُر کرده بود، به فکر آن روزهایِ بچگی افتاده بود که با حسرت به درختها نگاه کرده بود، به آرزویِ اینکه فقط یک روز و یکبار از یکی از آن درختها بالا رود، ولی از ترسِ پاره شدنِ «پردۀ بکارت» هرگز این کار را نکرده بود... گفت: من انتقام میگیرم
    *******************
    ‎مونس 3 شبانه روز زیرِ درختی نشست و کتابِ «راز کامیابی هایِ جنسی.. یا بدنِ خود را بشناسیم» را 3 مرتبه خواند و وقتی عالیه را دید به او گفت: من دیگر آن مونسِ قدیم نیستم، حالا بسیار چیزها میدانم... اما چون روزها از مونس خبری نبود، برادرِ مونس، امیرخان او را کتک زد، وقتی مونس علتش را پرسید، چاقو را در قلبِ مونس فرو کرد و او را کشت... فائزه هم برایِ دلبری به امیرخان گفت: خوب کردی و دوتایی مونس را در باغچه خاک کردند!!... بعد هم فائزه با امیرخان رویِ هم ریخت و با او بود... ولی بعدها امیرخان فائزه همان دخترِ پست و بی وجدان را رها کرد و به خواستگاریِ دخترِ حاج محمد سرخ چهره رفت
    *******************
    ‎فائزه از دوری و عشقِ امیرخان بی تاب بود... خانم باجی به فائزه گفت: راهِ غلبه بر این عشق این است که 7 شب، پا برهنه، 7 بار و 7 قدم به طرفِ قبله بروی!!! و هفت بار و هفت قدم برعکسِ قبله بروی !! و در هر قدم بگویی: ای خدا من را از شرّ وسوسه هایِ شیطان خلاص کن... بعد پاهایت را بشوری و در رختخواب هم که میخوابی، پاهایت را از زیر لحاف بیرون بگذاری
    ‎فائزه ر��ت که طلسم را در باغچه خاک کند، دید که مونس هنوز زنده است
    *******************
    ‎گلچهره گفت: وقتی یک زن یائسه میشود، احساساتش هم فرق میکند؟! باید همینطور باشد...لابد برایِ همین مرد حق دارد چندتا زن بگیرد، که مجبور نباشد یک یائسه را در رختخوابش تحمل کند
    *******************
    ‎امیرخان فائزه را بدونِ آنکه زنش بفهمد، عقد کرد و برایش خانه ای جداگانه گرفت... بهانه اش چه بود؟ مونس گفته بود، دختر قبل از ازدواج با امیرخان، توسطِ پسردایی اش حامله شده بود و دکتر فاطمی او را جراحی کرده بود
    *******************
    ‎مونس، 7 سال از 7 بیابان گذشت و خسته و با تجربه برگشت و سپس خودش را تمییز کرد!! رفت و معلم مدرسه شد
    --------------------------------------------
    ‎امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ شناختِ این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
    ‎<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>

  • Jimmy

    I read a review that claimed that this is not a feminist novel. If it were a feminist novel, the characters would not rely on men, they would assert themselves powerfully at all times, and their lives would be better for it.

    Umm, newsflash. A novel can be feminist without all its characters being feminists, strong women, and perfect all the time. That would be unrealistic and boring. Let's first understand that feminism is realism, i.e. realistic portrayal of women, including women who are not feminists, including women who are anti-feminists. And these are realistic women, despite the amount of magical realism, surrealism, and straight-up fantasy that also creeps in. In fact, it's the grim reality of their situation that makes these flights of fancy so powerful.

    This patriarchal system is all there is for the Iranian women in this novel, it is all they've ever known. For them to become full fledged feminists as we know it in the west would be unrealistic. But to see them oppressing each other, keeping each other in check, this was heartbreaking. You get a sense of the true ubiquity of this system. Simply having one's own will, being able to dream, to want something for oneself however tiny, say to turn into a tree, or to move away and start a community becomes a courageously feminist act.

    I did not love everything about this novel, the writing was uneven, and some of the fantasy elements seemed a bit too random for me... but I thought it was unique and interesting, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.

    A comparison of translations:

    Translation by Kamran Talattof and Jocelyn Sharlet:

    This translation was strangely veiled, like it was trying not to say things straight out. This made it much harder to understand. The rhythm of the sentences was shorter than the other translation. No footnotes. Introduction by Kamran Talatof: one of the most rubbish introductions to a book I've ever read. Including synopsis of entire plot. It reads like a high school book report plagiarised from wikipedia, including some details of the author's life and works, some very obvious interpretations of this book.

    Excerpt:

    Mahdokht's heart stopped. The girl, Fatemeh, at fifteen like a worldly woman, was at hte end of the greenhouse with Yadallah, the gardener. With his bald head and oozing eyes, it was difficult to look at him.

    The world around her went dark, and her legs began to tremble. She involuntarily clutched the edge of a table. But she could not take her eyes off them. She looked and looked until they saw her. The guy had begun to whimper. He wanted to escape but he couldn't He was mindlessly beating the girl. The girl extended her hand toward Mahdokht. Mahdokht ran out of the greenhouse. She didn't know what to do. She headed for the pool in a daze, and wanted to throw up. She washed her hands and sat on the bench.

    "What can I do?"
    Translation by Faridoun Farrokh:

    This translation was more straight forward. There were footnotes. Foreword by the filmmaker Shirin Neshat. Afterword by the author explaining where she got inspiration for each one of the characters.

    Excerpt:
    Her heart missed a beat. The servant girl, Fati, fifteen years old, but more resembling a streetwalker, lay at the far end of the greenhouse with Yadollah, the gardener, with a bald head and repulsive, red-rimmed eyes, panting, panting, panting.

    Mahdokht, near collapse and reaching for a shelf to steady herself, could not take her eyes off the scene. The man was the first to notice her. He let out a squeal and tried to disentangle himself from the embrace of the girl by hitting her in the face with one hand and reaching with the other for Mahdokht, who rushed out of the greenhouse and wandered aimlessly in the courtyard, fraught with nausea. She hurried to the pool, dipped her hands in the water, washing them compulsively. She then sat on the edge of the bedstead.

    "What shall I do?"

  • Dream.M

    رمان زنان بدون مردان، روایت رنج بخشی از زنانی ست که اسیر سنت های غلط، تابو های فرهنگی و محدودیت های اجتماعی اند و  در برحه ای حساس از تاریخ ایران می زیسته اند. زنانی که فرفی ندارد کجایند و چه می کنند؛ زیرا چه در خانه پدر باشند و چه در خانه همسر، چه پیر باشند  و چه جوان، چه فقیر باشند و چه ثروتمند، هریک به نوعی از حق زیستن طبیعی محروم شده اند. آن چه این رمان روایت می کند، مسئله ایست که حتی با گذشت دهه ها از تاریخ نوشتن آن هنوز تازه و هنوز دغدغه زنان و مردان آزاد اندیش است .
    ....
    فایل ‌کتاب رو اگر پیدا نکردید، موجوده

  • Negar Afsharmanesh

    کتاب زنان بدون مردان، از موفق ترین داستان های شهرنوش پارسی پور که در سال ۲۰۰۹ توسط شیرین نشاط به فیلم بلند تبدیل شد و تندیس شیر نقره‌ای بهترین کارگردانی جشنواره ونیز را برای او به ارمغان آورد. شهرنوش پارسی پور در این اثر ��استان موازی چند زن را حکایت می کند که همگی در بازه زمانی برکناری مصدق و کودتای پس از ان روی می دهد. کتاب همچنین تصویری از دیدگاه و اندیشه جامعه ایران نسبت به زنان و دختران ارائه می دهد. سمبولیسم از ویژگی های این اثر است که زیبایی ان را دوچندان می کند.

  • Sleepless Dreamer

    Becoming a tree in order to avoid life problems is definitely a 2020 mood. Review to come!

  • Eylül Görmüş

    İranlı yazar Shahrnush Parsipur'un minik romanı Erkeksiz Kadınlar, büyülü gerçekçiliğin bizim coğrafyamıza en az Latin Amerika kadar uygun olduğunun ispatı resmen. 1946 doğumlu yazarımız henüz 7 yaşındayken tanık olduğu çalkantılı bir döneme kuruyor anlatısını: 1953, Muhammed Musaddık'ın devrilmesi. O dönemde küçük bir kız çocuğuyken etrafında olup bitenleri nasıl algıladı, ne gördü, ne hissetti acaba? Sanki hala masallar dinlediği bir dönemde şahit olduğu kanlı olayları o masallarla birleştirmiş ve ortaya bu güçlü metni çıkarmış gibi.

    Birbirinden bağımsız kadın öyküleri gibi başlayan anlatı, sonlara doğru bu kadınların aynı evde bir araya gelmesi ve hayatlarının birbirine eklemlenmesiyle birleşiyor. Bir fahişe, bir öğretmen, varlıklı bir ev kadını... Birbirine benzemeyen, bambaşka geçmişlere sahip bu kadınları devletin kadın bedeni üzerinde tahakküm kurma arzusu ve erkeklerin uyguladığı binbir farklı tür şiddet bir araya getiriyor aslında. Kentten uzakta bir bağ evinde bir araya gelip kendilerine bir hayat kuruyorlar.

    Büyülü gerçekçiliğin coğrafyamıza uygunluğu meselesi yeni bir fikir değil şüphesiz, her fırsatta övdüğüm Alberto Ruy Sanchez eseri Mogador Beşlisi de aslında tam bunu yapıyordu malum, büyülü gerçekçiliği Ortadoğu'ya taşıyıp Latin Amerika değil Fas büyülerini kullanıyordu anlatısını kurarken. Ancak bu daha direkt, daha tipik bir büyülü gerçekçi metin ve nasıl yakışmış yerine, İran'ın kadim mitleriyle nasıl güzel harman olmuş bu teknik.

    Delirip kendini toprağa dikmek suretiyle bir ağaç olan kadın; Mehdoht mesela... Ne muazzam yazılmış bir karakterdi ya! Kadınların her birinin öyküsü sarsıcı ve hepsini ağulu diliyle müthiş anlatmış Parsipur. Ancak keşke bu romanı 100 değil, 500 sayfa yazsaymış, şahane bir malzeme var elinde ama özellikle sonlara doğru atlı kovalar gibi hızlanıyor, hikaye genişleyeceği yerde daralıyor ve çat diye bitiyor metin. Bu ayarlanamamış tempo, romanın en büyük eksiklerinden biri bence.

    Bu arada 1977'de İran'da hapse atılıp 4 sene yatmak zorunda kalan ve sonra ABD'ye yerleşen yazarımızın hayat öyküsü de ayrıca ilginç, bakmanızı öneririm. İran'da elbette ki yasaklanan bu kitap, 2009'da filme de uyarlananmış.

  • Christine

    Re-read - still a wonderful book

    For the past few years, I have traveled to Washington DC and stayed a few days just to visit the museums. Plus, I live in Philly, so it’s like a two hour train trip. I’ve learned that the smaller Smithsonian tends to have the more interesting exhibits. I discovered a love for Whistler’s etchings at the Freer, and at the Hirshorn, I discovered that I do like some modern art and video installations. It was at the Hirshorn last summer that I heard of this book.
    Last summer, the museum had a major exhibit of Shirin Neshat’s work, and if you are like I was at the time, you are going who. She is Iranian and is known for her photography and videos. If the show is anywhere near you, I highly recommend you go. Neshat’s art is powerful and beautiful. At one point in the show, there was a clip and significant verbiage about Neshat’s film adaptation of this novel. The book itself was not in the bookstore, so when I finally sat down to read it, it was with so trepidation that it would not live up to the hype in my head.
    It does.
    When one reads Women without Men, it is easy to understand why Parsipur is living in exile. It is a feminist book that will anger many conservatives, in particular conservative men in power, angry. Yet, for all the short space that it inhibits it is a work of sheer brilliance. I cannot thank Neshat and the Hirshorn enough for introducing me to this book.
    Women Without Men, despite its title, does in fact have men in it, and not all the men are bad. To call the book anti-male would be incorrect. Parsipur relates the lives of different women from different levels of society who came together briefly in a garden before going their separate ways. Each of the women, from the prostitute to the high society wife, has been constricted in some way by society. One of the brilliant aspects of the novel is that not all the women are likable.
    Perhaps the most accessible, and most challenging to power structure, is Munis who changes the most and becomes one of the fulcrums that the other women turn around (Mahdokht is the other. It is no surprise that these two women go though the most and the least changes). Her reaction upon learning something is just so human, even in this tale of magical realism. What happens to Munis and her eventual fate in many ways is the heart of the novel (and no surprise that part of the arc was the clip from the film shown in the Neshat exhibit). The fates of the women are in part dictated by the society in which they live as well as the roles forced upon them by that society. In many ways, the book references the Garden of Eden, but almost as a place of renewal and peace.
    It’s a beautiful novel.

  • Kirstine

    Shahrnush Parsipur was - is - persecuted in Iran, where she’s from, for this book (among other things). Partly because she dares talk about, you know, sex, virginity, female sexuality. Topics that are not to be mentioned ever.

    ‘Women Without Men’ does reference the title of the Hemingway work ‘Men Without Women’. I haven’t read the latter, but in the afterword to this book, it says it’s a book where ultimately a life without women isn't particularly satisfying. The same (but in reverse) is the case of ‘Women Without Men’, in a way.

    It consists of five stories of five vastly different women, who nonetheless have a lot in common. They’re all confined by their family and society to a very narrow way of life. They all have very little freedom of movement or thought, and each strive, in their own way, to break their captivity and be free to pursue a different way of life.

    The separate storylines converge in the end and the women meet at a single house they help build and maintain together. In the house there’s also a gardener (incidentally a man, but of the somewhat invisible kind), who tends the garden where one of the women has planted herself in an attempt to become a tree.

    It’s a mixture of harsh reality and magical-realism. The magical elements present themselves without much ado and add depth and great character to the novel. The odd, fantastical elements are very poignant and quite stunning.

    The house they all live in and the life they share together may seem utopic, but it’s not the case at all. Having escaped the confines of their former position, whatever it was, and the men and norms that kept them trapped, they work steadily towards a new way of life. However, it’s not a life in female isolation; the solution is not an all-woman utopia.

    What these women need, what Parsipur tries to convey, is that they need this utopian space to learn to be free. It’s not the final stop. It’s where they unlearn all the restrictions that’s been put on them, and reflect on what they desire to get out of life.

    For some it means transcending the human body, to transform into nature and start anew, to some it means returning to life almost as it was before, but all of them with a new spiritual freedom. It’s not, in the end, a feasible project to live without men, nor is it possible. Women without men is rather women without the narrow idea of what a woman can and should be, an empty place she can shape as her own, where she can find herself.

    It’s an odd novel, because it moves in so many ways, and the ending may seem somewhat disappointing or anticlimactic, but there’s a strength to it, an insistence that women are allowed to become their own people, to talk about sex and virginity and politics. Each character present a different story, each needing the same and separate things, each getting their own ending, and the result is a complex, strange and wondrous novel.

    It’s very different from the video installating – the art piece based on the book – that I’ve seen. In the videos the women never meet, each story remains separate, and there are alterations to each of them, but both novel and film are very powerful means of telling such a story. I recommend the book, but I also recommend the art installation, should you ever come across it. It’s a lot harsher, but very rewarding.

    Original review:

    Holy shit.

    I've seen the film(s) based on this book. It was an art installation at Aros, the museum in my city (Aarhus Museum of Art). I had no idea it was a book first.
    I thought the title sounded familiar and this is why. It was an incredibly moving experience to see it. The different stories were split onto three huge screens in a dark, black room, so you got to watch them in random order. They were harsh, but beautiful. I hope it's still there.

  • Yasmin M.

    كتاب عجيبى بود. كتابى بود كه تشبيه و سمبليزم و جان بخشيدن به اشيا و... رو توى يك فضاى واقعى رها كرده بود، اما از اون عجيب تر كه تك تك جملاتش قابل باور بودند. انگار ما با نويسنده، شوخى و زبان رمزى خودمون رو داريم و اون كه بيان ميكنه، ما متوجه ميشيم و پنهانى لبخند ميزنيم، چون اين چيزيه فقط بين ما.
    بيشترين مونولوگى كه توى فكر ميگذشت، در نيمه اول كتاب اين بود "چقدر خوشبختم كه توى اين عصر به دنيا اومدم. چه بدبخت بودند اون زن ها و دخترها. چه بدبخت بودند. چه از بدبختى خودشون راضى بودن ."
    بقيه كتاب رو هم بلعيدم، چون خيلى ساده خوان و جالب بود.
    احساس ميكنم با اين كتاب، فرصت نداشتم تا خوب متوجه بيان نويسنده بشم.
    به هر حال جذاب بود.

  • Leila Dehghan

    کتاب من را به یاد قطعه ای از فروغ فرخزاد انداخت، چرا؟
    بخوانید لذت ببرید شاید با من هم عقیده شدید

    دست هایم را در باغچه می کارم
    سبز خواهم شد
    می دانم
    می دانم
    و پرستو ها در گودی انگشتان جوهریم
    تخم خواهند گذاشت...

  • Saman

    لینک دانلود این کتاب را در گروه "دانلود کتاب‌های نایاب" گذاشته‌ام و دوستان می‌توانند به راحتی دانلودش کنند

  • Rosemarie Björnsdottir

    One of the most beautiful books I have ever read

  • Renin

    Şaheser!

    Olaylar 1953’te geçiyor, Musaddık’ın devrildiği kaotik dönem romanın oturduğu toplumsal bağlam. Bu bağlama çok büyülü ve çok gerçekçi bir büyülü gerçekçilik ile mükemmel bir mizah eklemiş yazar ve birtakım kadınların (ve adamların) hayatını anlatmış.

    Nerelere gitsek ne yapsak da bu kitabın Türkçeye çevrilmesini sağlasak?

  • Fionnuala

    This reminded me of Herta Muller's writing - the same sense of the truth being hidden inside layers of allegory - not surprising since they are both writing out of a culture of censorship and oppression. However, I found Parsipur's allegories easier to understand.

  • Adriana

    "Caută întunericul, începutul, adâncurile. Când vei ajunge în adâncul adâncurilor, vei găsi lumina în toată strălucirea ei, în propriile mâini, alături de tine. Asta înseamnă să devii om."

  • محمد شکری

    کتاب داستان چندزن است که هریک از رذیلتی مردانه که به آنها تحمیل شده دور می ��وند و سرنوشتشان بهم پیوند میخورد: شهوت (مهدخت و زرین کلاه)، تمسخر و تحقیر(فرخ لقا)، غیرت (مونس) و بیمهری (فائزه) ر

    پارسی پور در این کتاب برای زنان نسخه می پیچد: «میلیون ها آدم در آب غرق شده اند تا اولین آدم شنا کردن را بیاموزد» (ص43) ... اما جدا از اینکه روش این نسخه پیچی درست است یا نه (چیزی که زن ها باید درمورد آن نظر دهند) بنظرم فرم (داستان و نثر بی مزه آن) و محتوای نسخه (اینکه بکارت را بزرگترین مسئله زن ایرانی گرفته) اصلا جالب نیست
    وقتی داستان مونس را میخواندم تقریبا مطمئن شدم که کتاب را اشتباه دانلود کرده ام و این متن بی مزه نمیتواند رمان پارسی پور باشد یا حتی شاید این نسخه تقلبی را گذاشته اند تا او را بدنام کنند!... تا اینکه به داستان زرین کلاه رسیدم و از آنجا که در مستند پارسی پور نقلی از برهنه نماز خواندن زرین کلاه در حمام شنیده بودم با تعجب پذیرفتم همین کتاب است
    احمقانه ترین کاری که وزارت ارشاد آخوندی ما می توانست بکند (و کرد) این بود که این کتاب را لغو مجوز کند!ر

    من دوست ندارم زور بزنم تا کتابی را عمیق بیابم
    اینکه مرگ و تولد و مرگ و تولد دوباره مونس نشان دهنده پایمردی زنان است؛
    اینکه زرین کلاه مرد ها را بی سر می بیند و این نشان دهنده روی کار آمدن شعبان «بی مخ» هاست (دقت کنید که داستان سال 32 اتفاق می افتد)؛
    اینکه مسخرگی داستان مونس اشاره به مسخرگی «سینمای قیصر و زن کش ایرانی» دارد؛
    اینها را می توان براحتی با خواندن داستان یا حداقل نقدهای آن فهمید... اما این چیزی از ناچیز بودن کتاب کم نمی کند: بهرحال هنر داستان باید تاثیرگذاری (هم) باشد
    نمیتوان یک اسم «رئالیسم جادویی» روی اثر گذاشت و هر کنش و واکنش و ربط و رابطه بی معنی (به قول دوستان «باسمه ای»!) در آن چپاند

    داستان برداشتی کامل از شعر «وهم سبز» فروغ است (و البته جایی اشارتی به آن هم دارد)... اما آنهایی که هم «وهم سبز» را خوانده اند و هم «زنان بدون مردان» را فکر کنم انصاف بدهند که فروغ خیلی بهتر، تاثیرگذارتر و مجمل تر حرف کتاب را زده است

    الان ازین ناراحتم که «زنان بدون مردان» را قبل از «سگ و زمستان بلند» خواندم و این را تقصیر کسی می دانم که دومی را برایم نیاورد!ر

  • Nariman

    یک سری داستان که عموما حول پرده بکارت زنان می چرخه، یه رگه هایی از رئالیسم جادویی توش بود اما واقعیت و خیال اون چنان در هم تنیده نبود و می شد مرز بینشون رو قشنگ مشاهده کرد.کم حجم و روونه داستان و زیاد وقتی ازتون نمی گیره خوندنش.

  • Masih Reyhani

    زجر روانم بود که این چنین مرا شطح خوان کرد...
    هر بار که کتابی با موضوع زنان (خاصه در خاورمیانه) می‌خوانم، روانم آزرده می‌شود... بار سنگین هرزواژه‌هایی چون غیرت، ناموس و آبرو قامتم را خمیده می‌کند. چه زنانی که در طول قرن‌ها و صد افسوس که اکنون حتی؛ جان‌شان را پای چنین مهملاتی از دست داده‌اند.

    کتاب به صورت موازی، زندگی معمولِ چند زن ایرانی را روایت می‌کند که در حوالی کودتای ۲۸ مرداد زندگی می‌کنند و به قول مونس: «تصمیم گرفته‌اند خودشان را از شر زندان خانواده نجات دهند».

    به افسانه‌ی پرده بکارت هم در این کتاب پرداخته شده است که با توجه به زمان نگارش داستان، برایم جالب و حائز اهمیت بود.

    آنجا که فائزه به امیرخان می‌گوید: «دختری که یک‌ماه گم بشود، یعنی مرده. دختر که از این کارها نمی‌کند.»؛ گریستم.
    آنجا که فائزه برای «باکره نبودنش(!)» می‌گریست؛ گریستم.
    برای حال فرخ‌لقا در دوران یائسگی؛ گریستم.
    و برای مهدخت که درختی شده بود؛ گریستم.

    و به یاد لبخندِ زیبایِ «مونا حیدری»؛ گریستم...

  • Kavita

    I can't claim to say I really understood anything in this book. Five women, whose lives intersect, are drawn together and crazy, crazy things happen to them.

    Mahdokht is dissatisfied with her life and wants to do more with it. Then she catches the maid having sex with the gardener, which disgusts her. And then, she becomes a tree. The tree is fed with breast milk and finally burst into seeds and scatters.

    Fai'za is slightly more sensible and remains human. But that's about it. She lusts after her friend's brother, Amir. Said brother kills friend and she helps him hush it up. In the end, she marries the brother and becomes his concubine.

    Munis is Amir's sister. She dies and then returns to life and then is murdered by her brother. She then returns to life and can read people's minds. She becomes a whirlwind for seven years and finally becomes a schoolteacher.

    Zarrinkolah is a prostitute who sees headless men everywhere. She marries the gardener and then glows with light and gives birth to a flower. Then she and the gardener go up in a puff of smoke.

    Farrokhlaqa is the most understandable of all the characters. She becomes a widow, wants more out of life, tries her hand at different things and finally marries a powerful man and the two achieve things together.

    Then, there is the gardener (a man) who helps these women.

    Don't ask me what it all meant. I can only assume the author was on drugs. Can't even understand why this book got banned in the first place. Maybe they don't want women becoming trees or going up in smoke or whatever.

  • Isadora Paiva

    I guess magical realism just isn't for me. Especially when I wasn't expecting it. I read this because I saw it in a list of feminist books written by women around the world, and since I'd never read something in this vein by an Iranian author (especially one who was improsined for writing this very work), I was looking forward to gaining some insight into Iranian culture through her eyes. The expectation for something more realist certainly didn't help, but even after I had readjusted my expectations, I couldn't bring myself to like it. The fantastic elements all felt so random, and the chracters have very little depth.

  • Loredana (Bookinista08)

    Ori mi-au scăpat mie scopul și frumusețea acestei cărți, ori ele chiar nu există. Da, am citit-o repede, dar m-a lăsat complet rece... O fi având teme și simboluri legate de cultura persană și de asta nu am prins eu „șpilul”. Realul se amestecă cu magicul, dar ceea ce în alte cărți m-a fermecat, aici m-a lăsat cam straight face. În fine... e și asta o carte bifată pe listă. :))

  • Nora Khalid

    من نوع الروايات التي تصيبك برعشة جسدية عند الانتهاء من قرائتها. سبق لي أن شاهدت فيلمًا قبل سنوات مستوحى من هذه الرواية ولكنّي لم أنتبه لتلك النقطة إلا بعد أن انتصفت بها.
    كان فيلمًا نسويا رائعا بلا شك. وكذاك رواية عظيمة لن تتقادم بمرور الزمن.

  • Haifa

    تتقاطع حياة خمس نساء في احد بساتين كراج من خمسينات القرن الماضي في إيران
    تستقر بهن الحال في هذا البستان و يحاولن إصلاح ماافسده عالم الذكورية فيهن
    تتفرق بهن سبل الحياة فتختار كل واحدة منهن مصيرها المستقل
    الرواية جميلة جدا وتعتبر صرخة في وجه التسلط الذكوري وسوء احكام وقرارات المجتمع الذي يهتم بالطقوس الدينية الشكلية بينما داخله عفن تتقاسم احكامه الأهواء والشهوات فلا دور لدين الا في العبادات
    فتجد هناك المومس التي تصلي وتزور قبور الصالحين ثم تذهب لمزاولة مهنتها البغاء
    وهناك من تشترك في جريمة اعز صديقاتها كي تتزوج من اخ هذه الصديقة بعدما اتهم اخته في شرفها
    احداث الرواية صاغتها الكاتبة بشكل بسيط وسلس وكأنه من حكايا الأساطير

  • Shervin R

    مجموعه چند داستان کوتاه پیوسته در مورد زندگی چند زن در بحبوحه کودتای ۲۸ مرداد.
    مدت ها بود داستان ایرونی به این خوبی نخونده بودم. بدون شک این کتاب بسیار خاصیه از این جهت کمتر کتابی هست که همه شخصیت های
    اصلی اون زن باشند و محوریت اصلی داستان دغدغه زنان باشه.

  • Asma

    خسارة الفلوس الي اندفعت لشراء الرواية

  • Diana Gole

    De la o vreme citesc tot mai multă literatură arabă / orientală. Mă fascinează această lume, deși nu știu dacă aș putea trăi în ea. Sunt un spirit liber, dar ceva mă tot împinge să aflu mai mult despre cultura și mentalitățile acestei lumi. Evident, mânată de acest ceva am cumpărat și volumul Femei fără bărbați – un roman scris de Shahrnush Parsipur. Atenția mi-a fost și mai mult stârnită de un citat de pe coperta IV dintr-o recenzie a celor de la Publishers Weekly: „ […]Femei fără bărbați e și o formă de protest împotriva discriminării femeii în tradiția persană.” – una din temele mele preferate când vine vorba de acest gen de literatură.

    Shahrnush Parsipur reunește în cartea sa destinele a cinci femei care ajung să trăiască împreună într-o grădină magică (prin urmare, romanul are și câteva elemente fantastice – ajung imediat și la asta). Cele cinci femei sunt: Mahdokht – o tânără care își dorește să fie copac (da, ați citit bine), Faeze – o femeie care tânjește să se mărite, Mounes – ea a fost ucisă de fratele ei pentru că și-a dorit libertatea (dar învie!!!), Farrokhlangha – o doamnă care a ratat iubirea din tinerețe și Zarrinkolah – o prostituată. Aceste cinci femei se retrag în grădină încercând să se reculeagă, să înțeleagă viața, să își atingă scopurile menținându-și, totodată, libertatea.

    La nivel de tehnică scriitoricească, autoarea a inserat cu măiestrie fantasticul în real… dar cam atât. Acesta are rolul lui îndeosebi în caracterizarea unor personaje sau ilustrarea unor adevăruri, dar mie, personal, mi-a îngreunat lectura.

    Prefer să citesc cărți realiste, foarte rar mă prinde fantasticul și nu cred că l-am înțeles deloc pe cel al lui Shahrnush Parsipur. Nici personajele parcă nu m-au atras… Din aceste două motive îmi venea să renunț la carte și singurul motiv pentru care nu am făcut asta sunt dimensiunile sale reduse.

    Recenzia completa aici:
    https://illusionsstreet.wordpress.com...

  • plainzt

    Women Without Men, whose author Shahrnush Parsipur is a strong contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature, was introduced to me by a friend whom I follow fondly on Goodreads. According to the blurb, Shahrnush Parsipur was arrested and imprisoned in her native Iran shortly after the 1989 publication of Women Without Men for her candid and defiant portrayal of women's sexuality. The book is now banned in Iran.

    We follow five women as they try to break free from the confines imposed by repressive social rules, their families, and the chaotic political situation in this book. The story takes place mostly during the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Morda coup d'état, but the author also uses flashbacks.

    I was pleased to read a story about women in modern Iran written by a woman. The book was successful in depicting the issues that women face. However, I believe the magical realism element of the story was unsuccessful.

    When I was discussing references, symbols, and other elements in this book with my sister, she did some research on my behalf. As expected, some of the references are deeply rooted in Iranian culture and literature. "Morning Glory," for example, represents virginity, which makes perfect sense in the context of the story. Perhaps I would have liked the book more if some details had been explained in the footnotes.

    Nonetheless, I am pleased to be acquainted with Shahrnush Parsipur's works. I want to keep reading her books. Mrs. Parsipur's writing, in my opinion, would be an excellent introduction to modern Iranian literature for readers looking to broaden their reading horizons.

  • Jessica

    This is a really wild novel, unlike any you'll ever read. Parsipur was banned in her native Iran; last I knew she was living in the States (she's taught at Brown U.). Parsipur deals with the limited choices women have in Iran, the violence they face for being raped, rebellious, for breaking even in small ways with the constrictive norm. The novella cannot of course take these issues head-on and so does so in a wildly imaginative way. Parsipur's women find their own haven--one woman becomes a tree--with a gardener as the only male on the grounds. The novella is what we term in the west 'magical realism,' as if the great Latin American writers own it or invented it...but of course such imaginative flights from so-called reality have long existed in non-western literature and in fact can be a necessity as a form of expression in repressive, censored societies. The great Iranian filmmaker, Shirin Neshat (I hope I have her name right), has made the novel into a film, with mixed results (from what I've read; I've not yet seen it).

  • Nata

    O cărțulie scrisă scurt și la subiect. Fără descrieri tumultoase, fără alte detalii care ar îngreuna cumva lectura acestei cărți. Cinci femei care nu mai vor să îndure sistemul patriarhal al societății în care își duc traiul. Cinci femei care pleacă din familiile lor și se stabilesc într-o casă. Fiecare cu povestea ei de viață, fiecare cu metehnele ei.

    O carte care îmbină cu succes realismul magic cu probleme femeilor musulmane.

    Mă așteptam la ceva mai coerent și laconic, dar și ce am citit a fost bine.