The Heart's Desire

Jennifer Sahary, an American artist, and her husband Karim, a professor and Iranian immigrant, make an extended visit to Teheran shortly after the Iran-Iraq War, encountering unforeseen dangers and sexual temptations that change the course of their lives.

When their young son is taken by his grandmother to the holy city of Qom without Jennifer's knowledge, she sets out to find him, learning much about Iran and about herself along the way. And as Karim renews contact with his family and surveys the misery and needs of his war-torn country, he begins to question where he can best achieve his ideals.

In sensuous and elegant prose, Rachlin weaves the interlinking stories of a man and a woman and their contrasting cultures with balance and sympathy.

One can learn a lot from this novel . . .-- Publishers Weekly

Nahid Rachlin is an Iranian who lives in New York City, where she teaches creative writing at Barnard College. She is author of Veils: Short Stories and Married to a Stranger (both published by City Lights) and Foreigner (W. W. Norton). She teaches at the New School University and the Unterberg Poetry Center in New York.

Author: Nahid Rachlin
Publisher: City Lights Books
Published: 01/01/2001
Pages: 198
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 8.04h x 5.57w x 0.48d
ISBN: 9780872863057

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/02/1995 pg. 66
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/1995 pg. 1214

About the Author
Nahid Rachlin is the Iranian-American author of four novels, short stories, and essays. She teaches at New School University and the Unterberg Poetry Center at the 92nd Street Y, New York City.