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Books
July 6-9, 1999 / Tir 15-18, 1378

Book of the week

* Legend: The Stone

Past picks

* Novel: During the Reign of the Queen of Persia
*
Children: Persian carpet legend|
*
Language: Iranian nationality and the Persian Language
*
Poetry: The Subject Tonight is Love


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The Stone
A Persia Legend of the Magi

By y Dianne Hofmeyr, Jude Daly (Illustrator)

This exquisitely illustrated story spins anew the famous tale of the Magi. It is a retelling of the Persian legend, as told to Marco Polo in the 13th century, whereupon three astronomers, Jasper, Melchior, and Balthasar, who are also healers and holy men, follow a bright star in the sky to witness the birth of a king. Upon greeting the child, the three men present gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. The child accepts their gifts, but also endows the three men with his own offeringa stone. It proves to be a solid symbol of belief that gives off a fervor of fire. Daly's illustrations perfectly capture the arid landscapes and the starry night sky, and her intriguing perspectives and inventive use of the page combine ancient, simplified forms with more elegant lines. The book has broad appeal, giving a fresh new shape and texture to a familiar story -- Kirkus Reviews ... GO TO BOOK

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During the Reign of the Queen of Persian

By Joan Chase

    The novel that is sweeping the country. A beautiful story of 20th-century womanhood, of Gram, the Queen of Persia herself, who rules a house where five daughters and four granddaughters spin out the tragedies and triumphs of rural life in the 1950's in the American midwest ... GO TO BOOK

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The Legend of the Persian Carpet

By Tomie De Paola

    Children who've been told of the diamond's legendary hardness may question the ease with which this one is shattered. A king, accustomed to dwelling in a light-filled room where a large diamond creates a million rainbows, is bereft when it's stolen and smashed, and thereafter takes his only pleasure in staring at the fragments, away from the subjects who need him. An apprentice weaver comes up with the idea of making a magnificent carpet that will lure the king back to his duties. It works. But, unfortunately, neither the words nor the art here convincingly suggests the lure of the diamond's prismatic play or the carpet's intricate patterns. Readers will have to take these on faith. Still, Ewart's illustrations are prettily evocative of old Persia, and perhaps the tale will pique interest in this ancient art form ... GO TO BOOK

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Iranian Nationality and the Persian Language

By Shahrokh Meskoo
Foreword by Ali Banuazizi
Translated by Michael Hillmann

    In this insightful study of Iranian cultural history and national identity, Shahrokh Meskoob, one of Iran's leading intellectuals, reviews the roles of three social classes, the courtiers and bureaucratic officials (ahl-e divan), the religious scholars (ulama), and the Muslim Gnostics (Sufi poets and writers), in the development and refinement of the Persian language during the past one thousand years and gives the reader a fresh perspective on Iranian cultural heritage and the struggle to forge a distinct national identity. Dr. Ali Banuazizi's foreword and interview with the author sets the stage for a fuller appreciation of this invaluable and wide-ranging contribution to Iranian intellectual history ... GO TO BOOK

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The Subject Tonight Is Love
60 Wild & Sweet Poems of Hafiz

Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

    For centuries Hafiz has been called, "The Tongue of the Invisible." Through his sublime works he continues to sing beautiful and wild love songs ... GO TO BOOK

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