''Disoriental'' () is a French-language novel by French-Iranian author

Négar Djavadi Négar Djavadi (born 1969) is an Iranian-born French novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker, most noted for her 2016 novel '' Disoriental (Désorientale)''.Dalia Sofer"A Persian Turned Parisian Insists: I’m Not an Immigrant, I’m an Exile" ''The ...

, published by in 2016. Tina Kover translated the book into English, and this version was published by

Europa Editions Europa Editions is an independent trade publisher based in New York. The company was founded in 2005 by the owners of the Italian press and specializes in literary fiction, mysteries, and narrative non-fiction. Europa has published books by aut ...

in 2018. It was the first novel written by the author. The book is narrated by Kimiâ Sadr, who at age 10 flees Iran and goes to exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. She feels disoriented from her lack of status in the society, and the novel's title is a combination of the words "désorienter" and "oriental". ''Disoriental'' describes the history of her family, including her two older sisters, her six uncles, and her parents. Her father Darius, who does political advocacy, accommodates the narrator's

tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...

ish nature. Kimia is a bisexual. Her mother Sara is also an activist. Kimiâ's second uncle, a gay man, lives in a country where homosexuality is illegal and has a heterosexual marriage that produced children. The other characters see him as the family mythologist. Foreshadowing is a common device in ''Disoriental''.

Reception

Azarin Sadegh of the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 201 ...

'' stated that the French original has a "rich, deep, lyrical, with cinematographic quality" while this aspect disappears in the English translation. Dalia Sofer of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described this as a "rich" novel. She criticized the lengthy descriptions of

Iranian history The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian ...

, arguing the passages are "weighing down" the content. Robin Yassin-Kassab of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' stated that "this novel compels the reader’s attention as consistently as it entertains." The English translation of ''Disoriental'' has been shortlisted for the 2019 Albertine Prize and the

Warwick Prize for Women in Translation The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is an annual award for work by a female author translated into English and published by a UK-based or Irish publisher during the previous calendar year. The prize was established in 2017 "to address the g ...

, and won the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

for Bisexual Fiction at the

31st Lambda Literary Awards The 31st Lambda Literary Awards were held on June 3, 2019, to honour works of LGBT literature published in 2018. The list of nominees was released on March 7.Ryan Porter"Vivek Shraya, Joshua Whitehead among Canadian finalists for Lambda Literary A ...

."Lambda Literary Award winners honored"
''

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'', June 4, 2019.

References

External links

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Disoriental
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Désorientale
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Sample of the French version

Interview with the author
2016 French novels Novels set in Paris Novels set in Iran Lambda Literary Award–winning works French LGBTQ novels 2010s LGBTQ novels Novels about bisexual topics 2016 debut novels 2016 LGBTQ-related literary works {{2010s-LGBT-novel-stub

Reception

References

Further reading

External links