Mousavi’s Recommendation Makes “News of a Kidnapping” a Hit in Tehran
Book cover of News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
There is no release in store for the leader of Iran’s opposition, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
The former presidential candidate has been under house arrest since February.
Recently, Mousavi was allowed to meet briefly with his daughters and according to news reports, he told them that if they wanted to know what his detention is like, they should read a book called “News of a Kidnapping.”
The news caused a run on Tehran’s bookstores as opposition supporters rushed to buy their own copies.
“News of a Kidnapping” is not an Iranian book. It was written in Spanish in 1996 by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The English translation of the book was released in 1997. It describes the abduction of politicians in the author’s native country, Colombia.
Anchor Lisa Mullins talks to Ilan Stavans, professor of Latin American Culture at Amherst College, Massachusetts, about why Iranians are seeking out the Colombian author.
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