Crowd of Kisses

The book “The Crowd of Kisses” by Narges Maqsoudi is based on her first experience of the Arbaeen pilgrimage. Despite its growing popularity among a wide segment of Iranian society in recent years, this journey has garnered significant appeal for storytelling due to its variety in execution and the events encountered along the way. “The Crowd of Kisses,” despite having a female narrator, does not fall into the trap of sentimentalism associated with feminine narratives. This work narrates an evocative and intriguing account of this event. The book begins with a description of how the narrator embarked on this journey, referring to it as a divine calling, and continues with a suspenseful recounting of her efforts to gather the necessary equipment, funds, and preparations, both financial and otherwise. Maqsoudi’s perspective in the book takes on a storytelling style to describe her journey. It’s as if she has added a touch of narrative flair to the events she experienced, striving to leave the audience with a more engaging account than a mere report of what she observed.