TEHRAN-A Persian translation of Danish writer Stig Dalager’s “Journey in Blue: A Novel about Hans Christian Andersen” has recently been published by Saless Publications in Tehran.

The book has been translated into Persian by Shaqayeq Qandehari.

The book tells the story of Hans Christian Andersen, who is on his deathbed. Doses of morphine cause his brain to oscillate between dreamy states and fleeting moments of clarity. The complex and elastic mind that drives his personality and his work wrestle with his own perceived fate as a stranger in the world, his longing for love, and his religiosity.

To believe in his own talent to the extent that Andersen has done and to have lived so one-dimensionally has left him socially deficient and isolated. There is also torment: although internationally renowned, he was rejected in his own country until late in his life when a leading Danish literary critic discovered his fairytales and confirmed their importance to his fellow countrymen. As Andersen’s death approaches, his memories grow more vivid and material, yet at the same time fairytale-like.

In this remarkable novel, Stig Dalager takes the reader on a journey through the mind, body, spirit, and works of one of the truly great names in world literature.

Photo: Front cover of the Persian translation of Danish writer Stig Dalager’s “Journey in Blue: A Novel about Hans Christian Andersen”.

ABU/MG