Iranian Literature after the Islamic Revolution: Production and Circulation in Iran and the World. Laetitia Nanquette (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021). Pp. 312. $105.00 hardcover. ISBN 9781474486378

Abstract

Laetitia Nanquette ’ s Iranian Literature after the Islamic Revolution: Production and Circulation in Iran and the World is a meticulously researched, exhaustive study of the production and circulation of Iranian literature after the 1979 revolution. At the heart of the author ’ s argument is what she identifies as a division in Iranian literary production and its reception between Iran and the diaspora. In her book, she offers a detailed exploration of the specific cultural conditions in which Iranian literature in Iran and in the diaspora is produced and circulated. Nanquette is a literary scholar, but she tells us at the outset that she will not be engaging in close readings of texts; rather, her goal is to offer a comprehensive sociological study of Iranian literature published in Iran and in the diaspora. She deliberately foregoes literary analysis in favor of a broad view of the industry, although more granular textual analysis would have further enriched this important work.