Reza Joulaee
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Reza Julaee. Born into a middle class family in 1950, Julai was educated first in Tehran and then studied medicine at Shiraz University. However, for reasons only known to himself, he abandoned his studies for economy and obtained a BA in the discipline.
In 1972, some of his stories appeared in different magazines. Yet, he buckled down to serious writing in the 1980s. His first collection of stories was centered on the Qajar period and the defeat the Iranians sustained at the hands of the Russians. In his other stories too, Julaee mingled the violence and political repression of the Qajar period with the calamities wrought by war, thereby creating a hair-raising ambiance. Still in others, he uses natural elements and god-forsaken spots in order to show the dark corners of human soul. ‘The Blood-stained Garment (1989)’, which garnered public acclaim, is among his historical stories. ‘The Immortals’ is a novel loosely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Julaee is immensely drawn to the writings of the Qajar period, and such writers as Franz Kafka and Edgar Allan Poe. His Kafkaesque style bears testimony to the depth of his attachment to the writer. Albeit he has managed to gain a style of his own which is novel and unique in modern Persian fiction. In his works, history and fiction together with his unique style mingle to create enviable works in the history of Persian writings. Complexity, originality, powerful narrative techniques and superb use of old words mark his style.
‘The Blood-stained Garment (1989)’, a collection of short stories, won him the title of the best post-revolutionary Iranian writer and catapulted him into the limelight.
Julaee is a writer of great capacities with a short way to go to the top list of the few Iranian writers who have exercised a lasting impact on Persian fiction.
‘Attempt on His Excellency' has been translated into German. Some of his short stories have been translated into English by Farzin Yazdanfar and Ismail Salami.
