A moving account of life as a political prisoner in post-revolutionary
Iran from the acclaimed Iranian author of Women Without Men.
Shahrnush Parsipur was a successful writer and television producer in
her native Iran until the Revolution of 1979. Soon after seizing
control, the Islamist government began detaining its citizens--and
Parsipur found herself incarcerated without charges.
Kissing the Sword captures the surreal experience of serving time as a
political prisoner and witnessing the systematic elimination of
opposition to fundamentalist power. It is a harrowing narrative filled
with both horror and humor: nights blasted by machine gun fire as
detainees are summarily executed, days spent debating prison officials
on whether the Quran demands that women be covered. Parsipur, one of
modern Iran's great literary voices, mines her painful life experiences
to deliver an urgent call for the most basic of human rights: the
freedom of expression.
"Parsipur makes a stylishly original contribution to modern feminist
literature." --Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis
"Stands as a powerful testament to not only the devastations of an era,
but to the integrity and courage of an extraordinary woman." --Kirkus
Reviews
"Parsipur's memoir is a powerful tale of a writer's struggle to survive
the worst cases of atrocities and injustice with grace and compassion. A
terribly dark but truly illuminating narrative; Parsipur forces the
reader to question human nature and resilience." --Shirin Neshat, artist
