Mehri Yalfani Bücher

Fiction. Middle Eastern Studies. Women's Studies. A PALACE IN PARADISE is a novel about the complex Iranian refugee and immigrant community in Toronto and the way in which one woman's death changes the lives of many others. The people in this community are connected by family ties, cultural ties, romance, and the fact that, as immigrants, they not only share a culture, but they also share a past of political violence. Several were at one time imprisoned in Evin, a notorious jail in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some were unable to withstand the daily torture and constant physical pain they were subjected to in Evin, and thus began to cooperate with the jail's authorities and participate in the torturing, even execution, of other prisoners. Many are incapable of having a normal life even after being released from the prison, and having immigrated to Canada to start a new life. Parvaneh, a social worker, accepts her friend, Ferdous, even though she may be a traitor. She is pitted against Nadereh, a refugee who learns that Ferdous was a traitor and feels duped. Guilt is a major theme in this book as characters deal with remorse from having caused the death of another by accident, or by not acting sooner, or by betrayal to the authorities. Life in exile is not easy and some succumb to their dark past with fatal consequences, while others struggle to forgive and find solace.

"Mehri Yalfani's stories in The Street of Butterflies feature Iranian women dealing with displacement, cultural change, and struggles for survival and adaptation as immigrants in North America. At the same time, the challenges they face also reveal the racial, gendered and cultural anxieties of these same individuals who carry with them the biases of their country of origin to the norms of the new land. 'Soleiman's Silence,' 'Felicia,' 'If You Were I,' 'Geranium Family,' and 'Line,' all portray many dimensions of the migrant's strive (or the refusal) to build a home, away from home. The stories that are set in Iran contain the complexity of the social and political context after the revolution that deposed the shah. These stories provide a glimpse of life in post-revolutionary Iran, where the new regime that replaced the old one continues the suppression and prosecution of political activists, only more harshly and mercilessly. Anyone who has lived under a brutal dictatorship can easily identify with the paralyzing fear of Sara and Nazar in the story, 'Books,' the agonizing wait of Zinat for her disappeared son in 'Unexpicable Story,' or the narratives of the ten-year-old child whose activist parents have perished in notorious prisons of the Islamic regime in 'Where is Paradise?'"-- Provided by publisher

A glimpse into the challenges and joys of immigrants and refugees' lived experiences in the diaspora. Mehri Yalfani's new collection consists of nineteen short stories, primarily from Iranian women's perspectives set in Iran and Canada. In the story "Rainy Day," a little girl longs for a doll with golden hair; in "Adopted Child," a successful business professional delays having a baby but then discovers a secret; in "Armchair ...migré," siblings struggle to settle their parents' estate; an educated woman finds herself cleaning the home of a wealthy, illiterate woman to pay the bills in the story "Adam," and, in the title story, a family is divided (literally) when the mother loses her job and they must make difficult decisions for their future. These varied, compelling snapshots of family, friendship, culture, tradition, discrimination, class issues, and struggle offer a glimpse into the challenges and joys of immigrants and refugees' lived experiences in the Canadian diaspora. Fiction. Middle Eastern Studies. Women's Studies.

One of the Best Holy Quran Translations Currently Available. This is a simpler, clearer and easier to read translation than many of the popular ones which proceeded it. Saheeh International has reviewed each verse in Arabic with reference to several works of Arabic tafseer and grammar, choosing contemporary wording and carefully placing them in order similar to that of the original Arabic whenever possible.The Qur'an is the word of the Ever-living God, It has been sent down to guide humanity for all times to come. No book can be like it. As you come to the Qur'an, God speaks to you. To read the Qur'an is to hear Him, converse with him and walk in his ways. Is is the encounter of life with the Life-giver. ' God - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-living, the Sustainer of existence. He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the book in truth ....as guidance for the people ' [Quran 3:2-3]'No person can afford to be ignorant of the Qur'an, for it is the constitution revealed by God (Allah) to regulate and govern human life. It speaks with perfect knowledge of the Creator about his creation. It exposes the truth. It contains important information about human destiny and that of the individual. It educates and raises men to the highest moral, intellectual and social level when they strive to comprehend it and apply its teachings to life.' APPENDICES