The Cannon

The Cannon is the first and considered the best of Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi’s three novels. It has an unwavering focus on a single character, the itinerant Mullah Mir Hashem, who is clever and manipulative. Based on historical events, the novel is set in northwestern Iran in the early twentieth century. It features tribal supporters of the Constitutional Revolution; Russian Cossacks who are backing the status quo; and Mullah Mir Hashem. The novel gives a glimpse into the tensions and machinations of the Constitutional Revolution, where each party is attempting to outwit, out-maneuver and otherwise deceive the other. For most of the narrative Mir Hashem seems to have outsmarted the others. The story comes to an intriguing and unpredictable end. Faridoun Farrokh, the translator, is a professor of English at Texas A&M International University. His previous published book was a translation of Goli Taraghi’s short stories.