My Father’s Notebook A Novel
My Father’s Notebook A Novel by Kader Abdolah, published by HarperCollins on February 28, 2006, is a work of fiction that delves into the life of Aga Akbar, the youngest child of a Persian nobleman who is deaf-mute. Utilizing a rudimentary sign language, Aga Akbar navigates his world while his innermost thoughts remain unexpressed. His uncle encourages him to visit Saffron Mountain to copy an ancient cuneiform inscription, a task that becomes a pivotal moment in his life, leading him to fill a notebook with writings that only he can comprehend.
The narrative unfolds years later through the eyes of Ishmael, Aga Akbar’s politically active son, who has fled Iran for the Netherlands. As he attempts to translate his father’s notebook, he weaves together their stories and the broader history of twentieth-century Iran, touching on significant events such as the rise of the first railroad and the political struggles involving the shah, communists, and mullahs. This edition, comprising 336 pages, presents a rich tapestry of Persian myths and archetypal characters, exploring themes of love, identity, and cultural transformation.
Official synopsis Publisher
Aga Akbar, the youngest of seven children and the illegitimate son of a Persian nobleman, is a deaf-mute. He makes use of a rudimentary sign language to get by in the world, but his deepest thoughts and feelings go unexpressed. Hoping to free the boy from his emotional confinement, his uncle asks him to visit a cave on nearby Saffron Mountain and to copy a three-thousand-year-old cuneiform inscription — an order of the first king of Persia and the destination of many pilgrimages. Through the rest of his life, Aga Akbar uses these cuneiform characters to fill his notebook with writings only he can understand.
Years later, his political-dissident son, Ishmael, has been forced to flee Iran. From his new home in the Netherlands, he attempts to translate the notebook, and in the process he tells his father’s story, his own story, and the story of twentieth-century Iran — from the building of the first railroad to the struggles for power among the shah, the communists, and the mullahs, and ending with the revolution.
Rich in the myths of Persia and peopled with characters of rare archetypal power, this stunning and ambitious novel by Kader Abdolah masterfully charts a culture’s troubled voyage into modernity. Just as poignantly, it is a magnificent, timeless tale of a son’s love for his father.
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