TEHRAN – Palestinian-Icelandic writer Mazen Maarouf’s book “Jokes for the Gunmen” has been published in Persian by Qoqnus in Tehran.

Mansureh Ahmadi-Jafari is the translator of the book originally published by Paperback in 2015. The book has been translated into English by Jonathan Wright.

The book is a brilliant collection of fictions in the vein of Roald Dahl, Etgar Keret and Amy Hempel. These are stories of what the world looks like from a child’s pure but sometimes vengeful or muddled perspective.

These are stories of life in a warzone, life peppered by surreal mistakes, tragic accidents and painful encounters. 

These are stories of fantasist matadors, lost limbs and voyeuristic dwarfs. This is a collection about death and the all-important skill of making life into a joke. These are unexpected stories by a very fresh voice. These stories are unforgettable.

Born in 1978 to a Palestinian refugee family, Maarouf lived, studied and worked in Beirut before moving to Iceland. 

In 2008, he started working for An-Nahar newspaper, as a critic of theater and literature, and has since written for various Arabic magazines and newspapers, including Al-Hayat (Beirut, London), Assafir, Al-Mustaqbal, Kalimat Cultural Supplement (Beirut), Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed (London), Al-Ayyam (West Bank), Al-Quds-el-Arabi (London), Kika (London), Jasad Magazine (Beirut) and Qantara (Paris).

Photo: A combination photo shows Mazen Maarouf and the front cover of the Persian translation of his book “Jokes for the Gunmen”.

MMS/YAW