Stories by Iranian women since the revolution /

American interest in Iranian women has been restricted to representations of shrouded black forms who may symbolize patriarchal oppression or, when toting guns, the mobilization of an entire nation. This collection of very recent short stories presents for the first time a powerful challenge to stereotypes. As in all situations of social crisis, discursive space has opened up to welcome new writers, particularly women. This collection includes such new voices as well as those that are more established and widely known e.g., Simin Daneshvar. Thirteen women of all ages and ideologies in Iran as well as in exile are brought together under a single rubric the Islamic Revolution. Each story illustrates the roles women and children have fashioned during a period of radical change. Women's roles range from bearers of strong moral and religious values, to defiers of these same values, to controllers of young revolutionary guards. These children, both boys and girls, are depicted as nurturing in chaos and also as imagining and, therefore, creating alternatives to violence. Recommended for all university, college and public libraries.-M. Cooke, Duke University