The myth of creation
Subtitle: a puppet show in three acts
By: SadeqHedayat ; translated from the Persian by M.R. Ghanoonparvar ; illustrations by Kaya Behkalam.
Contributors: Ghanoonparvar, M. R.
Series: Bibliotheca Iranica.; no. 4
Publisher: Mazda Publishers
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Costa Mesa, CA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 54
Subjects: Puppet plays, Persian -- Translations into English.
Description: The Myth of Creation [Afsaneh-ye Afarinesh] is one of the earliest works by Iran's best-known twentieth-century writer, Sadeq Hedayat, whose popularity outside Iran is due mostly to his short novel, The Blind Owl. Little has been written in critical literature about this work, perhaps because critics find the subject matter too sensitive for its generally Jewish, Christian and Moslem audiences.

Given the general plot line of this story, Hedayat demonstrates an open skepticism towards the three major Middle Eastern religions, particularly Islam, by casting the characters of his story in the form of puppets. This suggests that even the "creator," as perceived by these three religions, is a mere puppet controlled by unseen hands.