A Perfect Day for Frog Swimming

A Suitable Day for Froggy Swimming by Reza Zangiabadi is a collection of nine stories. Readers of Persian literature recognize Reza Zangiabadi through his brilliant novel “The Partridge Hunt.” This story collection was published after that novel. In all of Zangiabadi’s works, shared concerns can be found: lonely, isolated, and sad characters whose grief sometimes turns into anger and leads to violence. These characters emerge from a specific social atmosphere. The characters in the collection “A Suitable Day for Froggy Swimming” share these traits. In this collection, the characters occasionally resort to violent actions. For instance, in the story “The Temporary Death of Grandmother,” the family members have reached despair and are waiting for the grandmother’s death. This story also contains hints of humor and fantasy, as the grandmother, like a nightmare for her family members, does not die easily, and when they think she has passed away, she comes back to life. In the story “A Suitable Day for Froggy Swimming,” from which the collection takes its name, we again encounter a form of familial violence and reach the theme of patricide. The members of a family, who are financially well-off, have issues with their father. He suddenly begins begging, which becomes a habit for him. Perhaps he is trying in some way to take revenge on his children. He brings disgrace upon his children, and their efforts to stop their father’s behavior lead nowhere. Finally, the children drown their father in a pool. “Rana Asleep” might be the best story in this collection. It is a love story about a high school teenager who has moved from a village to the city for further education and is living in the house of his cousin, who has recently become a widow. Her husband has been executed, and the violence running through the depths of this love story stems from a political and social environment. The story is reminiscent of the film “Malena.” In the story “Dangerous Curves,” we are confronted with primal violence in a remote village. A female teacher from the city comes to this village. The village clinic’s doctor falls in love with her, but this love leads nowhere. Suddenly, the teacher goes missing, and the evidence suggests that two or three men from the village have caused harm to her. “Maliheh Had No Umbrella,” “The Seas Are Far Away,” “The Pleasant Dreams of Horses,” “The Sad Meows of Pussycat for Noushin,” and “The Astonishing Growth of Flowers in Open Air” are the titles of the other stories in this collection. “A Suitable Day for Froggy Swimming” is one of the noteworthy short story collections of the 2010s by a skilled writer who can satisfy readers of short fiction.