“Not Even a Surprise” is a series of 16 short fictions inspired by the disquiet of the author. The themes of society, politics, and affection crystallize the never-ending conflicts of the characters with the harsh realities of the society. Disloyal to the dominion, the characters crave to stand up against fated quandaries and the momentous nature of dominant circumstances in the transformative state of the current era. Also, the author finely pictures their unique bonds with symbolic power. The indigenous writing of the author is a blend of describing places and using common names (and verbally familiarized, invented names for people, animals, and objects). The narratives are brimmed with daily incidents and exclusive historical events, and the author masters colloquial Persian in tracing life, death, love, justice, and freedom by his words. These universalities, which have long resided the human mind, are now narrated to unfold the mentality of the author in his tale of many people and events. As before, Mazaher Shahamat struggles with the fine line between reality and fantasy in his recent work. Having no intention to stress these boundaries and their historical permanence, he strives to rise above them. He conquers what separates reality from dreams, fantasies, nightmares, and illusions, and such qualities as good and evil. Nonetheless, the narratives are eminently believable. With his avant-garde style, he breaks free from the conventional framework of Persian story writing. It is perhaps because the author is a poet that he resorts to graceful, rhythmical language to describe the atmosphere and scenery in these short stories. Such poetic ambiance has turned the fictions into abstract “dream writing”; despite the integrated poeticism, the key elements of fiction are never lost from his work, creating a novel style in writing. In summary, the recent work presents instantaneous joy and sufferings, making the reader discover a state of “contemplation” when he puts down the book.

Mazaher Shahamat/Poet, Writer, Literary Critic/Born 1966 in Razi Town, Ardebil Province, Iran Mazaher Shahamat is a poet, writer, and literary critic. He has numerous publications in poetry, fiction, literary articles and reviews, and social articles in the press and official journals online.