Death was murmuring his song in my ear like a stammering man who is obliged to repeat each word and who, when he has come to the end of a line, has to begin it afresh. At times my room became so narrow that I felt that I was lying in a coffin…. It was dark, silent night like the night which had enveloped all my being, a night peopled with fearful shapes which grimaced at me from door and wall and curtain. It’s also a very dark and depressing tale and leaves the reader with a grim sense of hopelessness. Themes and imagery repeat frequently throughout and it is a circular novel that ends where it began. Reality and fantasy/nightmares/hallucinations all blend together to make the reader question what is real and what is illusion.

The writing was solid and at times beautiful and poetic, but I am generally not a fan of surrealist literature and I often felt frustrated by my inability to understand the symbolism behind the images. Unlike Book Worm, I did not enjoy this book. Warning: This is not a book for everyone due to the portrayal and treatment of women and to the images of murder and death. I also enjoyed trying to connect past and present and to attempting to find meaning in the repetitive language and symbols. I enjoyed the writing style and found the description of mental confusion to be very well done.

I must confess the symbolism passed me by. It is considered one of the finest examples of Iranian literature and is apparently a veiled commentary on the state of Iran. This is a surreal book narrated by a man who may or may not be mentally ill or suffering from opium hallucinations. The Blind Owl, which has been translated into many foreign languages, has often been compared to the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. And as the author gradually drifts into frenzy and madness, the reader becomes caught in the sandstorm of Hedayat’s bleak vision of the human condition. Replete with potent symbolism and terrifying surrealistic imagery, Sadegh Hedayat’s masterpiece details a young man’s despair after losing a mysterious lover. Synopsis (from book jacket): Considered the most important work of modern Iranian literature, The Blind Owl is a haunting tale of loss and spiritual degradation. It was written in the late 1930s and was originally published as a limited edition that was banned from publication in Iran. The Blind Owl is considered perhaps the most famous literary work of 20th century Iran. We initially wanted to feature this book for banned book week, but unfortunately we were not able to complete it in time.

The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat