Iran's Iraj Pezeshkzad, who wrote 'My Uncle Napoleon,' dies

TEHRAN – Iraj Pezeshkzad, an Iranian writer whose bestselling comic novel, “My Uncle Napoleon,” lampooned Persian culture's self-aggrandizing and paranoid behaviour arsenic the state entered the modern era, has died. He was 94.

The travails of Uncle Napoleon, whose delusions person him seeing Britain's manus successful the troubles plaguing his waning days of his aristocratic household during World War II, became 1 of the most-beloved tv serials ever successful Iran erstwhile it aired successful 1976.

The fervor of the 1979 Islamic Revolution saw the publication banned and the bid ne'er aired again connected Iranian authorities television. Pezeshkzad himself would yet onshore successful Los Angeles, portion of an emigre nine of Iranians inactive determination that spot the California metropolis jokingly referred to arsenic “Tehrangeles” adjacent today.

Pezeshkzad's words and turns of operation from the caller inactive litter Iranian civilization today, including raunchy references to “San Francisco” arsenic an innuendo for intersexual liaisons. The aforesaid goes for passages astir the powerfulness of love, arsenic described successful 1 country by Uncle Napoleon's long-suffering servant, Mash Ghasem.

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“When you don't spot her, it's similar your bosom is frozen,” says the servant, portrayed successful a softly-lit basement country successful the bid by famed histrion Parviz Fannizadeh. “When you spot her, it's similar a bakery oven is lit successful your heart."

Iran's semiofficial ISNA quality bureau quoted Davood Mosaei, who published Pezeshkzad’s books, arsenic confirming his decease connected Wednesday. No origin of decease was instantly offered. Foreign-based Farsi-language tv channels besides reported his death.

Iranian authorities media did not study connected his death, though the British ambassador to Iran offered his sympathy.

“My sincere condolences and sadness astatine the passing of 1 of Iran’s large literate figures - Iraj Pezeshkzad - whose subtle yet almighty satire is an enduring model onto Iranian culture,” Simon Shercliff wrote connected Twitter.

Born successful Tehran successful the precocious 1920s, Pezeshkzad came of property astatine the commencement of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty. In “My Uncle Napoleon,” helium focuses connected an aristocratic household from the Qajar dynasty, which had ruled Persia for implicit 100 years. Several unrecorded successful a compound with a immense garden, wherever the communicative takes place.

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The precocious essayist Christopher Hitchens erstwhile referred to the caller arsenic “a emotion communicative enfolded successful a bildungsroman and wrapped successful a conspiracy theory” — utilizing a $10 connection for a coming-of-age tale. The narrator loves Uncle Napoleon's daughter, his cousin, but yet ne'er marries her.

But the communicative does much to explicate the mindset of Iranians, who successful a procreation recovered themselves dragged from a astir feudal, agrarian manner into the modern epoch of cityscapes. As Persia formally became Iran, it became the people of satellite powers.

First, Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran successful 1941 and deposed Shah Reza Pahlavi, disquieted astir his overtures to Adolf Hitler successful Germany. His young son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, took the throne. In 1953, a CIA- and British-backed coup cemented the shah's powerfulness and overthrew the country's elected premier minister.

But adjacent earlier the modern era, weaker Persian dynasties recovered themselves subsumed by almighty overseas powers. That paranoia bleeds into modern Iran, wherever its theocracy present finds itself targeted successful attacks implicit its accelerating atomic program but besides has the inclination to blasted each its woes connected conspirators abroad.

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“Although the publication is not political, it is politically subversive, targeting a definite mentality and attitude,” wrote writer Azar Nafisi successful 2006. "Its protagonist is simply a small-minded and incompetent property who blames his failures and his ain insignificance connected an all-powerful entity, thereby making himself important and indispensable.

"In Iran, for example, arsenic Pezeshkzad has mentioned elsewhere, this cognition is not constricted to ‘common’ radical but is successful information much prevalent among the alleged governmental and intelligence elite.”

That's thing Pezeshkzad said came adjacent from commencement successful his family.

“When I was learning to talk, the words that I heard aft bread, water, nutrient and truthful connected were, ‘Yes. it’s the enactment of the British,” helium erstwhile told a 2009 BBC documentary.

The work of “My Uncle Napoleon” came successful the aboriginal 1970s, arsenic literacy rates raced upward on with planetary lipid prices, fueling the shah's modernization efforts successful the country. The publication sold millions of copies and brought astir the televised serial of the aforesaid sanction 3 years later. Iranians retrieve streets clearing successful Tehran arsenic it aired.

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Pezeshkzad himself served arsenic a taste authoritative successful the Foreign Ministry nether the shah. But soon, helium would fly Tehran everlastingly with the accomplishment of the Islamic Revolution, joining Iranian Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar successful Paris and his National Resistance Movement of Iran. Even the shah would blasted the Soviets and British for having a manus successful being yet pushed from power.

“By the clip I wrote this novel, everyone had beauteous overmuch realized that British imperialism with each its powerfulness and greatness had withered away,” helium told the BBC. “However, I had underestimated this phobia and particularly aft the revolution, I realized it was — and inactive is — highly strong.”

He described having radical praise him for seeing the British manus everything — the nonstop other of what helium tried to accidental successful his novel.

“I felt arsenic if a bucket of acold h2o had been poured implicit me,” helium added.

He aboriginal moved to Los Angeles, wherever helium occasionally lectured astatine universities. In March 2020, helium gave an interrogation to the tabloid Chelcheragh marking the Persian New Year, successful which helium described being incapable to work oregon constitute immoderate longer owed to macular degeneration. He said those helium erstwhile knew successful Tehran each had died with age, but helium longed to instrumentality location 1 past time.

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“I privation I could travel to Iran. Visit my city, my ain Tehran,” helium said. “How tin a idiosyncratic not miss his city?"

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat successful Tehran contributed to this report.

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