The Bewildered Cameleer: A Novel of Modern Iran (original) (raw)

The Bewildered Cameleer is a novel by Iran’s first and best-known Iranian female novelist and short-story writer, Simin Daneshvar (1921-2012). Published in Tehran in 2001, it is the second book of what was intended to be a trilogy. The translation of the first book of the trilogy, Island of Bewilderment, has recently been published by Syracuse University Press (2022). Unfortunately, the manuscript of the third book has been lost since 2007. While The Bewildered Cameleer includes most of the same characters featured in Island of Bewilderment, it is not necessary to have read the first book in order to understand and appreciate the second. Each book stands on its own as a complete novel. The Bewildered Cameleer takes place in Iran (primarily Tehran) during the last few years of the Pahlavi regime and the first years of the Islamic Republic (approximately 1976 to 1981). The story focuses on several young adults trying to work out their personal and familia relationships; to establish their particular stance with respect to political theory and action, philosophical positions, and spiritual beliefs; and to build satisfying lives for themselves in the midst of the significant social, economic, and political pressures of the era. The primary protagonist is Hasti Nourian, a college-educated artist in her late 20s who is somewhat unwillingly drawn into the politics of pre- and post-revolutionary Iran. It is a historical novel, recounting many events of the period vividly and realistically. As the book opens, Hasti is in prison largely because of her association with peers politically active in opposition to the Pahlavi regime. Meanwhile, Salim Farrokhi, a suitor whom she recently privately married, is grappling with his feelings about her, especially since she neglected to take advantage of his efforts to rescue her. In the next several chapters we learn more about the events leading up to Hasti’s arrest and her motivations in forgoing the rescue opportunity, and we meet most of the other major characters. We also get a glimpse into the treatment of prisoners, particularly political prisoners, during the Pahlavi era. When Hasti returns home, she finds her family life in disarray. Things have deteriorated in part due to her imprisonment and absence, but also due to the increasingly unstable political situation. Some of her friends and family members are packing up to leave the country, while others are becoming more involved in anti-regime political activities, secular and religious. In the immediate post-revolutionary period, Hasti and her family are caught up in the enthusiasm of some to Islamicize the country and to upend social classes. Through her characters, Daneshvar criticizes the inefficiency, hypocrisy, and lack of compassion of those in power in the immediate post-revolution period, the results of which proved even more disastrous during the first years of the war with Iraq.