Exiled in Europe, and separated from all he loves most, rebel Ishmael confronts his family's biggest mystery - who was the man who was his father? The only clue is the strange notebook his father, Aga Akbar, left behind - a book written in his own private script. As Ishmael struggles to decipher his father's story, a tale worthy of Scheherezade emerges. It tells of a carpet-weaver from the depths of rural Persia; a deaf mute who leaves his beloved home to try and give his family a better life in modern Tehran; a man passionately devoted to his children, who iseventually brought down by their dangerous politics.Rich in the myths of Persia and peopled with characters of rare power, Kader Abdolah's stunning and ambitious novel masterfully charts a culture's troubled voyage into modernity. It is also a magnificent, timeless tale of the bond between a father and a son. Translated by Susan Massotty.