The first of Mandanipour's novels to appear in English follows an ambitious but censored Iranian writer as he attempts to write a Nobel-caliber love story that will pass the censors' inspection. As a professional writer, narrator Shahriar has known his censor, nicknamed Pofiry Petrovich, for long enough that he can anticipate his objections. Shahriar's work in progress, which unfolds as a subnarrative within the novel, concerns Dara and Sara, teenagers named after prerevolutionary Iranian children's book characters, as they explore sexual and emotional love in a nation that forbids physical or social interaction between young people of the opposite sex. As the couple's love grows, the self-censoring writer strikes out whole passages in anticipation of his censor's objections. All the while, the writer converses with his censor, his characters, the reader and himself to create an intriguing postmodern, multifaceted romance steeped in Iranian culture. Kudos to Khalili for a wonderfully fluid translation of an intricately layered text. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

*Starred Review* Imagine trying to write about romance in a society in which it's a crime for a woman to walk down the street with a man who isn't a relative, and in which government censors scrutinize every line. Shahriar Mandanipour, the struggling Iranian author portrayed with mischievous wit and serious intent in this elaborately chambered double-novel by the real-life Shahriar Mandanipour--a prominent, censored Iranian writer--labors anxiously over the love story of Sara and Dara under the sharp eyes of Mr. Petrovich, a censor of disturbingly omniscient powers. Sara is the book-loving daughter of cautious parents; Dara's ardor for the movies has cost him jail time. Their passion is taboo, yet nothing keeps them apart, not tapped phones, nosy neighbors, or the brutal patrols for the Campaign Against Social Corruption. Poor Shahriar fumes, crossing out lines, jettisoning entire scenes, and decrying the contrast between the sensuous glory of Persia's poetic tradition and the puritanical tyranny of today's Iran. From Kafkaesque bureaucracy to a blind movie censor to violent repression, Mandanipour, summoning both irony and outrage in his first novel published in English, archly illuminates the labyrinth of paradoxes entrapping the politically repressed, and celebrates the liberating powers of literature and love. A charming, canny, and rambunctious novel of courage and freedom against all odds.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2009 Booklist

Sara is annoyed to note purple dots disfiguring the pages of The Blind Owl, a classic she's picked up from a street peddler. Then she realizes it's code; the young peddler wants to meet her. Since this is Iran, post-revolution, simply saying hello has its risks, and as someone who dabbles in banned books and suspect foreign films, peddler Dara is not what anyone would consider desirable company. But they manage a fraught relationship, fueled by a love of literature and narrated by an author who tells their story but also uses it to comment on censorship in Iran and its consequences, even wittily showing readers crossed out lines and boldfacing passages that could be trouble. The result is magisterial metafiction that makes an ordinary love affair astonishing and provides a rich understanding of life under repressive Islamic rule. Iranian author Mandanipour, currently a visiting scholar at Harvard, could not publish in Iran during much of the Nineties; readers will welcome his first full-length book in English. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/09.]-Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.