otāq-e ‘aqabī Persian 2025

The collection The Back Room comprises works written during the early years of the author’s literary career and published posthumously. The short story collection contains seven stories, and its title is taken from one of the pieces included in the volume.

Each of the stories in The Back Room had previously appeared in the literary journals Jang-e Esfahan and Sokhan. The stories largely revolve around human relationships, solitude, identity, and the challenges of everyday life. Although these themes recur throughout the collection, none of the stories share an identical atmosphere or narrative setting.

The opening story, From Which Side Does the Sun Rise?, depicts a forbidden love, but more importantly, presents the life of a servant so deprived that he does not even know from which direction the sun rises.

The final story of the collection, The Chinvat Customs House, unfolds primarily within an office setting and recounts the tale of a man who resigns from his job.

In the titular story, The Back Room, Mrs. Saqafi asks her husband to save their apple tree from destruction, but her attempts prove futile. Mr. Saqafi not only shows no concern for the tree, but neglects himself as well; his overeating results in illness, and he becomes bedridden in the back room. There, he undergoes a symbolic transformation of identity, and Mrs. Saqafi calls him from that room—a neglected, nearly invisible space within the house.

Another notable feature of the collection is the use of mythological and religious elements. Scattered throughout the stories are symbolic references to religious texts, traditions, and mythic vocabulary. For example, the story Yeklia and His Solitude is structured around a narrative from the Old Testament.