Seated in the Hallway

After four young adult novels—Selfie with a Saboteur, Flamingo Mission, Selfie with Mirza, and The Golden Bicycle—Tahereh Mashaikh has now moved from the world of adolescents to adult fiction, bringing to life the story of one of the most important and influential Shiite religious authorities with her narrative skill. Seated in the Hallway tells the life story of Seyyed Abolhassan Esfahani, a prominent Shiite jurist and one of the special students of the late Akhund Khorasani. The significance of this religious figure and the attention to his biography are evident in his pivotal and influential role during at least two critical political moments, such as the Constitutional Revolution and the exile of scholars from Iraq to Iran. Alongside like-minded peers, Seyyed Abolhassan Esfahani made timely decisions that allowed him to play an important role in the history of Iran, Iraq, and even the wider Islamic world. Born in the village of Madiseh in Isfahan, he migrated to Isfahan as a teenager and later, in his youth, to Najaf, where he continued his fruitful life until the end.

In Seated in the Hallway, the author not only narrates the life of a religious scholar and events in the Najaf seminary, but also attempts—through references to historical facts and reports—to present parts of the history of Iran and its neighboring country, Iraq, over the past century, all in the form of a story for the reader.

A passage from the book reads:

Seyyed glanced at the Iraqi government representative and said, “What do I have to do with the British ambassador?” He opened the book Zakhireh-ol-Salihin to review the notes his students had written in the margins. The intermediary realized that Seyyed was not in favor of meeting the ambassador, stood up, said goodbye, and left the room. The students who had witnessed the event sat opposite Seyyed. One of the seminarians, who was eloquent, said, “Sir, you should receive him. Let them come and see the greatness of the leading Shiite authority of the world, whom they have to make an appointment with and insist on just to see him. You did well by not accepting immediately.” Seyyed Abolhassan nodded in agreement.