Book Spotlight: Dear Uncle Napoleon
A contemporary masterpiece of Persian Literature.
Iraj Pezeshkzad’s magnum opus tells the classic story of a protagonist facing unparalleled obstacles in his quest for love. Taking place during the Allied occupation of Iran in the 1940s, Dear Uncle Napoleon explores a vast range of topics with heavy cultural significance to 20th-century Iran.
The story is narrated by our protagonist, a young boy (nameless in the book) who has just fallen in love with his Uncle’s daughter, Layli. Although the lens of the story focuses on the narrator’s struggles, we can quickly see the characters on the outer edge take center stage. The most important figure is, of course, Dear Uncle, an aristocratic traditionalist at the head of the family. He makes farcical recollections of his time serving the Persian Cossack Brigade, claiming to have led an army in multiple battles against the British when in reality, he has served only as a low-level officer. It’s his fantastical hate for the British and admiration for Napoleon that brings about his mischievous nickname, Dear Uncle Napoleon, and his fear of the British still looking to take their revenge on him after all these years.
The majority of Dear Uncle Napoleon takes place in the family’s grand estate, with characters flowing in and out at a moment’s notice, as a…
