Hoopoe

Hoopoe, written by Mrs. Zahra Esmaeilzadeh and published by Barkeh Khorshid Publishing, tells the story of a rebellious girl named Hoda who, under excessive educational and religious pressure from her parents and the deep rift in their relationship, enters a hell instead of heaven. Although the guardian of that hell appears respectable, he has a rotten inner nature. Hoopoe, like other works by Mrs. Esmaeilzadeh, is written very smoothly and eloquently. The story maintains appropriate suspense with utmost simplicity. Undoubtedly, the strong point of her works is the excellent character development, which is evident in this book as well. Hoda can represent a wide range of girls from the 60s and 70s decades who constantly fought with their parents for a bit of independence and legitimate freedom, which is the human right of every person. These restrictions might not be understandable to today’s girls, but many of us have lived through them. The story again shows how patriarchal the marriage and divorce laws are in our country. The lovable characters of Mamasi, Aunt Ebri, and Uncle Narrator have made the book’s atmosphere warm and pleasant. The story does not contain much romance, and the author’s focus is on the social aspect. There is no exaggeration in the plot, and the events happen logically. Personally, I wished the ending was a bit more detailed and that the main characters met once again, which left the story’s case open in a corner of my mind forever.