Her eyes. By Bozorg Alavi, translated by John O'Kane. (Bibliotheca Persica, Modern Persian Literature Series, No. 9.) pp. vi, 215. Lanham, Maryland etc., University Press of America, 1989. US $28.50.

Chashmhdyash, Her Eyes, is B. Alavi's first and only novel in Persian and, incidentally, the last of his works published in Iran before he left for exile. Although Her Eyes received much praise from the critics, it attracted strong condemnation too. The strongest attack came from some of the author's comrades in the Tudeh Party, and also from critics in the Soviet Union who found Alavi's sympathetic treatment of Farangis, the wealthy and spoiled heroine of the novel contrary to his professed progressive ideals and social convictions. All the same Her Eyes remains an important work of Persian fiction, and is one of Alavi's better known works. Thus, although Her Eyes has been translated into German and Polish, its translation into English was long overdue. Alavi's style is straightforward, simple and economical compared with the works of some of his famous contemporaries such as Hedayat, and Jamalzadeh; it should therefore pose fewer difficulties for the non-native translator. John O'Kane's rendering is correct and credit is due to him for achieving a consistently high level of basic accuracy. However, this exactitude is generally not accompanied by the imagination and inventiveness which might have produced a narrative that combines faithfulness to the original with a natural flow of English idiom. Retention of Persian word order for instance, can produce a stilted and artificial effect. In spite of this, the translation is successful in capturing the generally romantic, often psychoanalytical, and always melodramatic tone of the book. It is to be hoped that this translation of Her Eyes will encourage more English translations of Alavi's more impressive works, namely his collections of artistically worked-out short stories where his portrayal of character is far more convincing and powerful.