Savušun (also spelled Savushun, Persian: سووشون) is a 1969 Persian novel by Iranian writer Simin Daneshvar.[1] It is the first novel in Persian written by a female author.[2] The story is about the life of a landowning family in Shiraz faced to the occupation of Iran during World War II.[1] Savušun has sold over five hundred thousand copies in Iran.[1]
Savušun is "groundbreaking" and highly acclaimed work in contemporary Persian literature, with both literary and popular success within and outside Iran.[1][3] The novel has been translated to English and 16 other languages.[4] When writing about the novel's importance, critic Kaveh Bissari describing an exact translation by M.R. Ghanoonparvar[5] in 1990 and the version A Persian Requiem by Roxane Zand in 1991.[1]
Daneshvar uses folklore and myth in Savušun. Linguistically, savušun is a corruption of Siyâvašun, which refers to the traditional mourning for Siyâvaš, a hero in the Šâhnâme.[3]