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Title details for Medusa of the Roses by Navid Sinaki - Wait list

Medusa of the Roses

by Navid Sinaki
Michael Crouch
Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
A bold, cinematic novel steeped in ancient Persian and Greek myths, exploring queerness, desire, and violence in modern day Tehran, Medusa of the Roses announces Navid Sinaki as a daring and unforgettable literary voice. Bursting with sex, vengeance, and betrayal, it follows Anjir, a morbid romantic and petty thief, whose boyfriend disappears just as they're planning to leave their hometown for good.
Anjir and Zal are childhood best friends turned adults in love. The only problem is they live in Iran, where being openly gay is criminalized, and the government's apparent acceptance of trans people requires them to surgically transition and pass as cis straight people. When Zal vanishes after narrowly surviving a brutal attack, Anjir becomes hell-bent on carrying out their longstanding plan for the future: Anjir, who's always identified with the mythical gender-changing Tiresias, will become a woman, and they'll move to a new town for a fresh start as husband and wife. Stalking and stealing his way through the streets, clubs, and museum halls of Tehran in pursuit of Zal, Anjir encounters his troubled mother, addict brother, and the dynamic Leyli, who is undergoing a transition of her own.
And when he realizes that someone is tailing him too, the fastest route to freedom will push Anjir's morals and gender identity to new places.
Brimming with poetic vulnerability, subversive bite, and noirish grit, Medusa of the Roses is a page-turning wallop of a story from a stunning new talent.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 13, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798892749282
      • File size: 170241 KB
      • Duration: 05:54:39

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 8, 2024
      Video artist Sinaki’s stunning debut follows two gay lovers struggling to survive in modern-day Tehran. Anjir and Zal’s passionate but tumultuous relationship is threatened by the government’s criminalization of homosexuality and by Zal’s marriage to a wealthy woman, Mahtob. After Zal is savagely beaten by passersby who see him with a younger man, Anjir, despite being heartbroken by Zal’s betrayal, remains committed to the pair’s plan to leave Tehran for Isfahan, where they will live openly as man and woman after Anjir undergoes a sex-reassignment surgery. Then Zal disappears, and Anjir grows obsessed with finding Zal’s mysterious young lover. After tracking the man down, Anjir breaks into his apartment, even as he battles the ominous sensation that someone is watching his every move. Eventually, Anjir turns to Mahtob for information, and she counters with a dangerous proposal that tests the lengths Anjir will go to secure his and Zal’s freedom. In alternately gritty and sensual prose, Sinaki perfectly captures Anjir’s morbid state of mind and his inability to separate love from pain. The narrative teems with references to Greek mythology, Persian folktales, and Old Hollywood as Sinaki considers the psychological toll that living under an ever-present threat of death can take. This is a must. Agent: Mariah Stovall, Trellis Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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