Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s sprawling epic Missing Soluch has been described as The Grapes of Wrath of Iran and in many ways it is a comparable book. Both books have at their core a story concerning the desolate struggle of the extremely poor to find and maintain hope and dignity against nearly impossible odds. In Missing Soluch it is rural Iranians living a life of subsistence, which is then confronted by the violent greed of powerful landowners seeking to consolidate the surrounding land.

Missing Soluch is in one sense more impressive than The Grapes of Wrath because of the nature in which it was created. It was written while the author spent a year in jail. Written is an odd word too, for Dowlatabadi did not have pen and paper. He memorized it. He conceived of and composed the 507 page masterpiece in his mind, setting it down immediately after his release. It is a feat that is nearly impossible even imagine.

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi lives in Iran, despite his status as a persona non grata. He is celebrated for writing in the language of the common Iranian and his books have won awards the world over.

This summer, Melville House is proud to publish Dowlatabadi’s stunning novel The Colonel, which has won awards in nearly every language it has been translated into. In 2007 Melville House published the aforementioned Missing Soluch. Together they represent two of Iran’s (the world’s, really) most important works.

Today though, for the first time, the eBook of Missing Soluch is being released and to celebrate this event and in the hopes of introducing him to new readers, we are proud to offer ebook at a discount. PDF, Kindle, or EPUB of Missing Soluch will be only $6.99 for the rest of the week.

That’s not very much, considering what reader’s will get in return, and the heroic creative feat of the author.