Reviews

The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat

jarrigy's review against another edition

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5.0

Have definitely had hangovers like this. 

emmacuttle's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

r_musil's review against another edition

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3.0

جدا از تلخی زیاد اغلب کارها، اینکه همذات پنداری زیادی نسبت به شخصیت ها دارم باعث میشه به ندرت از نویسنده های ایرانی چیزی بخونم.
بوف کور واقعا داستان قوی ایه، با کمی تغییر لغات به اقتضای زمانه اثری در حد نویسنده های مهم تاریخ ادبیاته ولی اگر کسی بیاد و ازم بپرسه که بخوندش یا نه؟ جوابم منفیه

glazedpotat11's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nectarb's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

theesotericcamel's review against another edition

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4.0

An obscure English translation of an Iranian novella that was first published in 1936, and yet still feels strangly modern. There are two other "famous" English translations that came out in 1957 and 1984, but this one claims to be the first English translation of the first edition, also known as the "Bombay Edition." I have not read the other English translations, so I can only comment on this 2011 edition translated by Naveed Noori and with the blessing of the Sadegh Hedayat Foundation.
The story revolves around one man's obsession over a woman that constantly inhabits his art, dreams, memories, and life. He is a painter of pen cases and also very neurotic, always seeming to be wading though much anxiety. One day the woman of his dreams appears before him in the flesh, and ends up dying at his house, and he is left with the task and consequences of getting rid of the body... Mind you, this is a gross simplification of the plot. There is a lot more going on implicitly and symbolically. Indeed the whole story takes on the feeling of a harrowing fever dream, and flights of fancy freely intermingle with memories and real events. Many situations and motifs keep coming up in the book, but with variations, which enhances the dream like quality of the story. The book also hints that the book is rich in symbolism and allegories for those familiar with Iranian history and culture (which I am not). All these ideas and stylisation is packed into this slim novel making for a dense and opaque read, but the effect of disorientation and doubt is undeniable. And I'm sure that was the intention of the author. I would describe the writing style as a mix between Bruno Schulz and Edgar Allen Poe. Schulz's stories tended to draw out the surreal from the mundane, focusing on the decrepit and derelict that most would ignore. While Poe looked to the dark and disturbing shadows of dreams and madness for his inspiration. These ideas are also strongly present in Hedayat's book. Assuming you are able to find the beauty in decay, there is much to admire in this book.

esshgee's review against another edition

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3.0

I found this quite disturbing, the descent into madness, very effective with the repetition of scenes and phrases. It reminded me a bit of American Psycho, not knowing whether things were actually happening or they were a dream/hallucination

beccaeye's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

at_sams's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

upward_not_northward's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5