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Quote by Shahrnush Parsipur

“In a deserted stretch of the Karadj highway Munis had come face-to-face with unbridled lust, although she knew what lust was before being touched by it. The problem was that she had an unbounded awareness of things, an awareness that instilled undue caution in her, making her fearful that action would lead to ignominy, humiliation. This created in her a desire to be ordinary, average. Yet she did not truly know what it meant to be ordinary. She did not know that it meant not loving an earthworm, not genuflecting at the altar of withered leaves, not standing in prayer at the call of a lark, not climbing a mountain to see the sunrise, not staying awake all night to gaze at the Ursa Major. She did not differentiate between earth and gravel, but she distinguished the earth from the sky. She had not seen the skies of the earth, but she knew there were earths of the sky. She saw herself in an inevitable process of stagnation. She was already partially rotten within. "What can I do with this mass of trivial knowledge?" she wondered aloud. "How can I cut through it?”

Quote by Shahrnush Parsipur

Work

Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran

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Author

Shahrnush Parsipur
Shahrnush Parsipur

Shahrnush Parsipur (born February 17, 1946) is a renowned Iranian novelist known for her surrealist style and exploration of women's issues. Born in Tehran, she earned a BA in sociology from the University of Tehran and studied filmmaking in France. Her notable works include 'Women Without Men' and 'The Blue Reason,' which use magical realism to critique patriarchal oppression. Banned in Iran, her books have been translated into multiple languages. Parsipur faced imprisonment and exile, eventually settling in the United States. She has received international recognition, including the French Order of Arts and Letters. Her work has profoundly influenced contemporary Iranian literature and feminist thought. more

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