THE PRINCE

by Hushang Golshiri,  James Buchan (Translator)



Read the translated version by James Buchan.  The story is set in the crumbling house of the Qajar Dynasty which would later be  disposed by the  Pahlavi Dynasty. 


In most instances I was most disturbed by the lifestyle of the House of Qajars......as a so called Islamic ruler or even as a human being. Even if Prince Khosrow Ehtejab is fictional, and never rose to be as callous and whimsical as his forbares, his character still bring out the squirm in me. I cannot understand how his relationship with his wife, Fakronissa (a paternal cousin) and the maid, Fakhri can exist. Was it because it was the royal household?  Was it because Fakronissa was sick (with consumption),  and the Prince was unproductive? Or was it simply what a slave-master relationship can also mean in this country? I wonder.

The style of the author is also confusing. The narrator keeps on changing between the Prince, the maid and the wife. Many times this reminded me of  My Name Is Red. The author seems to be so preoccupied with women's napes, bossoms and skin to the point of what I call it as,  "jelak", you know, you just have it up to your throat! I suppose, Golshiri finds such things titillating. 

The historical backdrop was great. I learned that Reza Shah was a Cossack Soldier. If I could think it as a window to what could have happened in the royal court but still to note that the grandfather, The King, had hundreds of wives (temporary marriage agreement was common) and a virgin every night makes a mockery of the the institution of marriage.