Mahsati

Writing a novel with Mahsati Ganjavi at its center takes courage. To reanimate a poet about whom we know so little, to suggest the inspirations behind her rubaiyat—this is an arresting idea, and bringing such a difficult project to fruition calls for special care. In that respect, my congratulations to the author.

That said, as a text, Mahsati did not lift a thorn from my heart. Though the action is set in the eleventh century, the dialogue sounds strikingly modern; the author’s style scarcely registers the millennium that is meant to lie between us and the characters. Nor is the formation of Mahsati’s character—the process by which an ordinary girl becomes a poet who helps shape Eastern literature—rendered in sufficient depth.

All the same, the plot holds interest. Even if the language does not deliver the pleasure one hopes for, the sequence of events maintains its internal logic.

My thanks to the author, and my best wishes for continued success.