Landscapes of a Distant Mother

by Said, Kenneth J. Northcott (Translation)

Your smile.
There wasn't one.
You never smiled.

Born in Tehran but living in Germany, the eminent writer SAID has suffered two forms of exile. Forced to leave Iran for political reasons, he was also separated from his mother shortly after his birth when his parents divorced. At the age of forty-three, however, SAID received word that his mother was traveling abroad and wanted to see him. Landscapes of a Distant Mother is the account of their wrenching reunion. A memoir of longing and loss, the book offers a haunting portrait of a son's broken relationship with his mother and the Islamic dictatorship that shadows both their lives.

Landscapes of a Distant Mother gives English-speaking readers an introduction to one of Europe's most important immigrant writers. Unsentimental and spare, the book chronicles the discomfiting sensation of viewing one's mother as a stranger and all the psychological implications of their mutual disappointment. SAID's distance from his mother—whom he describes almost clinically, with her "particular way of speaking, the style laced with religious formulas, inclined to emotionalism, self-pity and expletives"—becomes a measure of the alienation he feels from everything around him. His book gives voice to the full meaning of modern exile—its political force, profound sadness, and perpetual yearning.

Genres: Memoir

118 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

SAID, whose real name was Said Mirhadi, published only under his first name for security reasons. He was born in Tehran in 1947 and lived in Munich since 1965. He studied political science in Munich. In 2004, SAID received German citizenship. He has received several awards for his literary work and for his commitment to politically persecuted people, including the Premio Letterario Internazionale “Jean Monnet” and the German PEN Center’s Hermann-Kesten Medal. He served as president of the German PEN Center and director of the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN.
In May 2021, SAID died of a heart attack at the age of 73.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very personal essay/memoir about life in exile. Said is separated from his mother shortly after birth (exile number one) and for political reasons is not welcome in his home country of Iran (exile number two). In Landscapes, Said is reuniting with his mother, after 40 some years. It's a complex reunion. The entire memoir is a letter to his mother taking us from the moment Said hears she wants to meet him, through the reunion itself, and years following. It's clear the loss of mother and county is an overall reflection of a life in search of a home, but steeped in the sadness of remaining disconnected.

[Annette Rowena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Said has written about his emotions and story in such a detached yet tumultuous manner, it was impressive to read. Enjoyed it and it was an easy book to go through.

[Khairul Umar Hamzah (Kuhaf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise writing with a poignant realities from a look-out point of an exile; by physical and emotional states. Moving!