Savushun

Savushun (Persian: سووشون [ʃævuːˈʃuːn]) is a 1969 Persian historical novel by Iranian writer Simin Daneshvar. It is the first novel in Persian written by a female author. The story is about the life of a landowning family in Shiraz faced with the occupation of Iran during World War II. Savushun has sold over five hundred thousand copies in Iran. Savushun is "groundbreaking" and highly acclaimed work in contemporary Persian literature, with both literary and popular success within and outside Iran. The novel has been translated to English and 16 other languages. When writing about the novel's importance, critic Kaveh Bissari describing an exact translation by M.R. Ghanoonparvar in 1990 and the version A Persian Requiem by Roxane Zand in 1991. Daneshvar uses folklore and mythology in Savushun. Linguistically, savushun is a corruption of Siyâvashun, which refers to the traditional mourning for Siyâvash, a hero in the Shahnameh.