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Carolas andere Tode (Carola’s Other Deaths)

Mahmood Falaki

„Carolas andere Tode” (Carola’s Other Deaths) is the latest book by Falaki, the author of several lyrical poems as well as the novel “Die Schatten” (The Shadows). His newest work can be characterised as a literary piece with a well-chosen and high qualitative language as well as a very sharp-witted crime story, thrilling until the end. Although Falaki proofs his writing skills in several genres his perspective is unmistakable and so „Carolas andere Tode” (Carola’s Other Deaths) can be seen as another masterpiece of Falaki’s exile literature. The story about an exiled Iranian who falls in love with a German woman in Hamburg is told from three different points of view: The German woman Carola Kandinsky, the Iranian man Behrus Panahi and from a third narrator, Sohrab Dschirdaschtani, who is not directly involved into the story. With a sense for thrilling narrations Falaki describes the protagonist’s different point of views and approaches as they are two people with a complete different cultural background. Their relationship is much more than a simple love story because it also portrays the integration process. Behrus Panahi is situated in between as he lives in Germany but is still influenced by his original Iranian culture. This permanent state of in-betweenness leads to an isolation of the protagonist who slowly turns away from his family and his Hamburg living fellow countrymen. Overall Falaki created a profound thriller that sees through the façades of life and cultural diversity and finally ends with an unexpected final.

“An Author one should memorise: Mahmood Falaki.”
                                                                           Die Zeit, 16th July 1995

übersetzt von: Susanne Baghestani