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A review by theesotericcamel
The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat
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.
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.