«Paris Madmen» Arrives in Bookstores in Lida Tarzi's Translation

The book «Paris Madmen», the latest volume in the O. Henry Prize short story collection, translated by Lida Tarzi, has been published by Nisetan Publishing and is now available in bookstores.

According to Ambassador Arjan, this book, which was first published in 2023 in the United States of America, contains 11 short stories by writers of different nationalities and backgrounds. This collection is like other volumes of his prize. Henry presents a selection of outstanding short stories to fiction lovers.

His short story award. Henry was founded in 1919, ten years after the death of this American writer, on the initiative of his friends and admirers. The purpose of establishing this award is to preserve his memory. Art was to strengthen the art of short story writing and motivate young writers.

Loren Graff, the editor of the 2023 volume of this collection, emphasized the role of fiction in confronting prejudice and hatred and believes that a great story can eliminate irrational hatred; A capacity that is considered one of the most important achievements of storytelling.

One of the stories in this series is "Office Hours" written by Ling Mast, which creates a mysterious atmosphere by mixing the borders of fantasy and reality. The main character of the story, Marie, is a young university professor who finds a secret door in her office, belonging to her late mentor; A door that leads to a different and wonderful place.

"Mountain of Men" written by Catherine Lacey is another story in this series, which presents the audience with a strange phenomenon by plotting an unusual event in the state of Kansas. Suddenly, a mountain appears whose walls are not made of stone and soil, but of a multitude of men. The reactions of the characters to this phenomenon and their different political, religious and apocalyptic interpretations are one of the main axes of this symbolic story.

In the story "The Exorcism of Haji Hotak" written by Jamil Jan Kochaei, the life of immigrants and the consequences of surveillance and political suspicion are depicted. The main character of the story is an old Afghan man who immigrated to the United States years ago, but is still accused of participating in political activities. In the meantime, his life and his large family are also under the supervision of an anonymous and invisible spy.

The story "Mad Men of Paris" written by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, from which the title of the book is also taken, is another notable work of this collection. The story is about a Mexican researcher who chooses the Linguistics Laboratory of the Paris Informatics Dictionary to complete his internship; But on November 23, 2015, just ten days after the deadly Bataclan attacks, he arrives in Paris.

The sad atmosphere of the city and the heavy silence of the people after this incident affect the life of the young researcher. Fed up with this situation, he meets a Romanian man in the subway, and then inadvertently discovers historical and political secrets.

"Mother" by Jacob M. Hango is the story of a young woman named Tombi who, in an African society, challenges the traditional beliefs and patriarchal structure of her tribe and talks about new issues. This defiance of the common norms exposes him to the punishment of the tribal elders and fanatics; However, Tombi miraculously survives this fate.

In the story "The Locksmith" written by Gary Wolfe Lajoie, the life of a quiet and aloof man is narrated who, despite his unusual appearance and social isolation, has a mind engaged in deep questions. His profession is to open locks and open closed doors.

This collection also has a story with a humorous approach. "The Bride" written by Kei Mingchang is about a middle-aged woman who, despite years of marriage, still has a conflict with her elderly mother-in-law. By dealing with family relationships, this story shows another aspect of the thematic diversity of the works collected in this book.

The book "Mad Men of Paris" translated by Lida Tarzi and published by Nistan Publishing House presents a series of diverse narratives about immigration, social beliefs, human relations, politics and human encounters with unusual situations.