At the book review session of her novel ‘I Fear Guranis’, author Belgheis Soleimani said: “Our intention is to create an abstract world that opens a thousand doors and the readers should not reach a deadlock while browsing through the story.”
Iran fiction keeps growing due to a supportive readership that “reads due to the interest in reading and not due to critics’ reviews,” she said.
Soleimani said while authors must be present to defend their books against critics, the books should also be elaborate in substance.
Her novel is the story of a middle-aged woman Farangis and her fears arising from her mental disorder and social condition. The story is a complement of two themes, love and crime and the challenges a human being faces today between modernity and tradition.
The word ‘guranis’ in the title refers to a traditional tribe who live in Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Ilam provinces in western Iran.
Soleimani, 52, was born in a rural area near Kerman, in southeastern Iran. She started her literary career as a researcher and critic. After getting her master’s degree in philosophy, she published over 80 critical articles and four works of research, including: ‘Art and Beauty According to Plato’ (2000), ‘Life and Poetry of Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda’ (2000), and ‘The Gun and The Scales: An Analysis and Criticism of War Short Stories’ (2001).
Her devotion to writing fiction resulted in a number of novels and short story collections within a decade, namely: ‘Banu’s Last Game’ (2005), ‘Auntie Games’ (2008), ‘Bride and Groom Games’ (2008), ‘Welcome to Hades’ (2009), ‘Rabbit Day’ (2011) and ‘Doggone Year’ (2013).
Winner of the 2006 Mehregan and Isfahan Awards for ‘Banu’s Last Game’, Soleimani has been a juror of national awards and a creative writing instructor. Her flash fiction stories are translated into English, Arabic and Italian.
