No Land

Land of No is the first novel by Keyvan Arzaghi. He has now somewhat established his name in Iranian literature and the field of Persian novels. “Without Nazanin,” “The Stone of the Final Scene,” and “Life Negative One” are among his subsequent works. The novel “Land of No” was published in 2012 and managed to win several awards, including the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Award. In his very first novel, Arzaghi has shown that he is socially conscious and tries to narrate tangible and concrete realities in simple language. In “Land of No,” he tackles one of the issues faced by immigrants: divorce and separation after migration. One of the problems that some Iranian couples face after migration is the inability to tolerate, understand, and accept each other. The novel “Land of No” falls into the category of migration literature. In this novel, the author has demonstrated his social concerns. He has attempted, through simple language, to narrate the circumstances of an Iranian couple named Arash and Sanam, who have been living in the United States for years and whose life is now on the verge of collapse. Arash is the narrator of the novel. He tells the story from his perspective and moves it forward. The novel begins in the setting of an airport. The narrative depicts the current state of this couple. However, the author frequently uses flashbacks to provide information about their past. Through these flashbacks, we learn more about their life in Iran, how they were, why they decided to migrate, and so on. After multiple flashbacks and the information they reveal, we engage with them in the present time, discovering why their life has reached a deadlock and how things are for them now. “Land of No” is straightforward and easy to read, progressing on the foundation of realistic storytelling. In his first novel, Arzaghi addresses some of the challenges and problems families face after migration. Readers who seriously follow migration literature can pick up this novel and, despite some structural flaws, not regret reading it.