Song of a Captive Bird: A Novel

Song of a Captive Bird: A Novel

LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLERÂ â€¢Â A spellbinding debut novel about the trailblazing Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad, who defied societyâ€™s expectations to find her voice and her destiny

â€œA complex and beautiful rendering of [a] vanished country and its scattered people; a reminder of the power and purpose of art; and an ode to female creativity under a patriarchy that repeatedly tries to snuff it outâ€â€”The New York Times Book Review (Editorsâ€™ Choice)

All through her childhood in Tehran, Forugh Farrokhzad is told that Persian daughters should be quiet and modest. She is taught only to obey, but she always finds ways to rebelâ€”gossiping with her sister among the fragrant roses of her motherâ€™s walled garden, venturing to the forbidden rooftop to roughhouse with her three brothers, writing poems to impress her strict, disapproving father, and sneaking out to flirt with a teenage paramour over cafÃ© glacÃ©. During the summer of 1950, Forughâ€™s passion for poetry takes flightâ€”and tradition seeks to clip her wings.

Forced into a suffocating marriage, Forugh runs away and falls into an affair that fuels her desire to write and to achieve freedom and independence. Forughâ€™s poems are considered both scandalous and brilliant; she is heralded by some as a national treasure, vilified by others as a demon influenced by the West. She perseveres, finding love with a notorious filmmaker and living by her own rulesâ€”at enormous cost. But the power of her writing only grows stronger amid the upheaval of the Iranian revolution.

Inspired by Forugh Farrokhzadâ€™s verse, letters, films, and interviewsâ€”and including original translations of her poemsâ€”this haunting novel uses the lens of fiction to capture the tenacity, spirit, and conflicting desires of a brave woman who represents the birth of feminism in Iranâ€”and who continues to inspire generations of women around the world.

Praise for Song of a Captive Bird

â€œIf poetry is emotion rendered incendiary, then Forugh Farrokhzad was made of fire. . . .Â Song of a Captive BirdÂ is an unsparing account of the necessity and consequences of speaking out.â€â€”BookPage

â€œSometimes, simply choosing whom to love is a political act.â€â€”VogueÂ

â€œForugh Farrokhzadâ€™s short life brimmed with controversy and rebellion . . . .This feminist icon inspired Darznikâ€™s imaginative debut.â€â€”Ms.
Country USA
Manufacturer Ballantine Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2018-02-13
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Ballantine Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2018-02-13
Format	Kindle eBook

Song of a Captive Bird: A Novel

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