Your Name

An unprecedented narrative masterpiece, Your Name makes for a highly compelling read. Navid Kermani's descriptions of everyday life are as precise as his portrayals of momentous events such as birth and death. On Thursday the 8th of June 2006, at 11:23 am, an author starts writing his new book; from this unexceptional moment is born one of the most remarkable novels of our time. The author sets down all there is to know about his own existence and life in general: his family's past and present, the memories of dead friends, and his passion for Jean Paul and Hölderlin, the great Romantic poets. As his writing is subsumed into his life, everything he writes begins to converge into a greater whole. At the heart of the novel is the story of the author's grandfather, the first child from Isfahan to go to the American School in Teheran at the beginning of the 20th century. Recounting an entirely personal story, Kermani uses this first-hand account to convey the greater conflict between internal and external in the world of today.

Navid Kermani, novelist and Oriental scholar, has for many years been lauded as one of the most intriguing writers of his generation. His literary prowess is matched by the perspicacity of his academic articles on the crucial issues of our time. Your Name sees Kermani at the zenith of his creativity: it is a novel that focuses on our most intimate moments as well as on our broader existence. This book will radically alter our understanding of the here and now.