{"product_id":"9781612193014","title":"Thirst: A Novel of the Iran-Iraq War","description":"“Dowlatabadi draws a detailed, realist picture of Iranian life . . . in language that is complex and lyrical.”\u003cb\u003e —\u003ci\u003eThe Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the midst of the Iran–Iraq War, an Iraqi journalist is given a tour of a military prison. The Major in charge of the camp informs the writer of what is expected: he is to write a fabricated report about a murder that has occurred in the camp, with the aim of demoralizing Iranian soldiers. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReluctant to write the report, the writer spends a long night talking and drinking with the Major and detailing a work of fiction he is composing about a group of soldiers trapped on a hill, dying of thirst as they battle for a water tank with a group of enemy soldiers perched on the opposite hill. The tank remains undamaged, but neither group has a hope of reaching it without being killed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a narrative riddled with surreal images, shifting perspectives, and dark humor, Mahmoud Dowlatabadi—widely acknowledged as the most important living Iranian writer—offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the warring countries as he questions the meaning of national identity and does something that has been nearly impossible to do in Iran for the last century: tell a true story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Trade Paperback edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Melville House Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47135310708976,"sku":"9781612193014","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781612193014_p0.jpg?v=1763842358","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781612193014","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}