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The Colonel

Read reviews from UK reading groups here

A pitch black, rainy night in a small Iranian town. Inside his house the Colonel is immersed in thought. Memories are storming in. Memories of his wife. Memories of the great patriots of the past, all of them assassinated or executed. Memories of his children, who had joined the different factions of the 1979 revolution. There is a knock on the door. Two young policemen have come to summon the Colonel to collect the tortured body of his youngest daughter and bury her before sunrise. The Islamic Revolution, like every other revolution in history, is devouring its own children. And whose fault is that? This shocking diatribe against the failures of the Iranian left over the last fifty years does not leave one taboo unbroken.

‘An affecting and beautiful novel’
The Literary Review

‘It’s about time everyone even remotely interested in Iran read this novel’
Independent

English PEN works in partnership with The Reading Agency to inspire more people to read more books in translation. By offering PEN supported titles through the Reading Groups for Everyone Initiative we have been able to reach readers around the country and get their feedback on the books we promote.

Author

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi

Translator

Tom Patterdale

Published by

Haus Publishing, 2011
Buy Book

Read reviews from UK reading groups here

A pitch black, rainy night in a small Iranian town. Inside his house the Colonel is immersed in thought. Memories are storming in. Memories of his wife. Memories of the great patriots of the past, all of them assassinated or executed. Memories of his children, who had joined the different factions of the 1979 revolution. There is a knock on the door. Two young policemen have come to summon the Colonel to collect the tortured body of his youngest daughter and bury her before sunrise. The Islamic Revolution, like every other revolution in history, is devouring its own children. And whose fault is that? This shocking diatribe against the failures of the Iranian left over the last fifty years does not leave one taboo unbroken.

‘An affecting and beautiful novel’
The Literary Review

‘It’s about time everyone even remotely interested in Iran read this novel’
Independent

English PEN works in partnership with The Reading Agency to inspire more people to read more books in translation. By offering PEN supported titles through the Reading Groups for Everyone Initiative we have been able to reach readers around the country and get their feedback on the books we promote.