Contemporary Middle East

Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange, wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis....

Hayden Hawkins made a deathbed promise to his brother, Ian: Hayden would watch over Ian's son, Nick, and the boy's mother, Ronni. Despite Hayden's initial feelings for Ronni, everything changed when she captured - then broke - Ian's heart. Hayden's avoided her since. Now, Nick's in trouble and needs Hayden's guidance. It's time to keep his promise. But getting close to Ronni stirs up old emotions, not all of them good. Then there's the new chemistry they're both feeling.

A rich and varied collection of contemporary short stories, extracts from novels, and poetry that will go a long way toward informing the English-speaking world of the latest developments in Iranian literature. This sampling - or to use the Farsi term golchine, a bouquet - provides a window onto an important but sorely neglected segment of world culture. We hope it will also serve to awaken further interest in the work and in translations of Iranian novelists and poets.