Natani

Natani (Persian: ناتنی ) is a Persian language romance novel written by Iranian American writer and scholar Mehdi Khalaji about the life of the son of an Ayatollah growing up in Qom, Iran. The novel alternates between the present and the past, a reflection of the protagonist’s life as he converses with a complete stranger. The book was published in Berlin in 2004 by Gardoon, an Iranian publishing company. It is the first Persian novel that has a setting in Qom and its seminary.^[1]

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Natani, by Mehdi Khalaji, published in 2004 in Berlin

The title “Natani” is a play on words. The Farsi word natani means “half-blooded” in English, but the title is instead deciphered as na-tani, meaning no-body (negation of the body), or disincarnated. This interpretation of the title embodies the general ambiance of the novel, as many times the novel grows to envelop not merely the struggles of the main character, but the struggles and frustration of a dark, oppressive spirituality that suppresses recognition of the body, while it is simultaneously obsessed by it.

Synopsis

Natani is a reminiscent love story between the protagonist, Fouad, and his first love, Zahra. It is romantic with hints of comedy and simultaneous dramatic undertones. The novel spans one night in a hotel lobby in Paris, France, but it is interlaced with many flashbacks from his adolescence in Qom, Iran. A native of Iran, Fouad now lives in London and is in Paris to meet his girlfriend. Prior to the arrival of his girlfriend, he becomes transfixed on an elegant woman who enters the hotel lobby. The appearance of this woman reminds him of Zahra, and what it felt like to fall in love. His girlfriend later arrives and after having dinner together, Fouad finds himself restless and unable to sleep. He returns to the lobby only to find the elegant woman he saw earlier. He begins talking to her about his life growing up as the son of an ayatollah in the restrictive religious society of Iran. The narrative continues to alternate between Fouad’s conversation and his flashbacks until the following morning. Fouad offers that one’s hometown is not where he lives, but where he gives birth. This is how Paris and Qom, in Fouad’s mind, stand isolated on two opposite sides of the world.

Review

The gripping narration allows the author to follow Fouad and experience the petrifying presence of religious power and oppression in its domination of the streets. His upbringing lacked the presence of women, the product of strict Islamic law in which women have little freedom and are hidden from society. Repression is not unique to women; there is a general suppression of the body and its understanding. As a result, Fouad lives in a masculine and chauvinist environment, and experiences numerous mechanisms of oppression instituted by the political system including the public stoning of women, female genital mutilation (which he sees in a dream), and terrifying scenes taking place in court and in prison. However, the narration maintains a cool, almost humoring perspective as these thoughts and memories flow through Fouad’s head, making the novel more of an impersonal account than a tragic memoir.

The format of the novel is very unique. The absence of chapters makes the novel resemble a long sentence. Instead of outright indications of dialogue, it is a more subtle, poetic prose. It transforms into an impersonal voice stemming from the depth of a historical period that contains the collusion of critiques of an entire society.

Author

Khalaji’s dense narrative, in which he couples the emancipation of the mind from obscurity with the freedom-oriented understanding of the physical body, draws an implicit comparison to novels such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s "One Hundred Years of Solitude”, and Albert Camus’ “L’Etranger”.

References

1. ^ [1], متن کامل رمانِ ناتنی Natani: The Complete Novel.