The mothers were ... signing anthems by the gravesides. We sang anthems too, and shared our little tin of halvah with everyone. The graves were one with the sky... If I had died Nanny Masumah would have planted a walnut sapling over my grave. The language of the short stories in this compelling collection was translated from Persian into English, but the sentiments need no translation. Romance. Infidelity. Relationships between sisters. Family crises. Societal roles. Such are the topics of short stories, and these from Iranian women are no different. With the male-dominated soiciety of Iran as a backdrop, the stories cover a period from 1945-1989 and are of universal appeal - yet with setting and tone that evokes something of the realtionship between these writers and the sexually segregated society to which they belong. This is not a literary cannon nor is it inteneded to be. The editors set out simply to compile a readable and interesting group of stories, some by prominent writers and others by prominent women with no literary pretensions, in a variety of styles and perspectives. The contributions by women to Persian fiction are growing rapidly. This anthology is but a small sample of a much lager existing and forthcoming body of work. "The stories allow readers to glimpse the rich, poetic Persian spirit trapped within the rigid social constraints all Iranians, especially women, endure." - The Christian Science Monitor