Woodwind Harmony in the Nighttime

"A great classic of the Iranian postmodernist canon, full of extraordinary everything." —Porochista Khakpour, author of Tehrangeles and Sick

“Language, philosophers tell us, is not merely a tool of our thoughts and emotions but their organic component. Philosophers also tell us that exiles are custodians of “dead treasures” and losing one’s language is an often-inevitable part of the agonies of exile. Reza Ghassemi offers at once both a description of the pains of the Iranian exilic experience and a path for soothing, if not transcending it. He is an artist of myriad talents. A master tar player, a consummate composer, an innovative novelist whose passion for innovation equals his immersion in the traditions of Iranian and global modernities. In a dazzling text of rich allusions, almost rhythmic pace, and acute observations he masterfully describes the agonies of exile and the redemptive power of literature in describing our common humanity.”  —Abbas Milani, author of The Shah

"A fantastical and many-layered roller-coaster of displacement and redemption, funny and haunting by turns, with a thrilling edge of subversiveness.  I enjoyed every bit of the ride, attempting along with the narrator to solve the mystery of exactly what has happened, and is happening, and why. Applause to translator Michelle Quay for her careful and delightful rendering, which retains all the sparkling wit and musicality for which Persian storytelling is known." —Tina Kover, translator of Disoriental

“Sometimes exile means trading the big, cruel world for a smaller universe of the sad and desperate stranded on the top floor of an aging Parisian apartment building. Reza Ghassemi's decidedly unharmonious Persian-Parisian symphony ricochets through its impossible but profoundly believable movements in Michelle Quay's utterly convincing translation.” —Shelley Fairweather-Vega, translator of We Computers