Ahmad Mahmoud

Other collections followed: Darya Hanuz Aram Ast (The Sea Is Still Calm) 1960, Bihudegi (Uselessness) 1962, Za'eri Zir-e Baran (A Pilgrim in the Rain) 1968, Pesarak-e Boumi (The Little Native Boy) 1971, and Gharibeh'ha (The Strangers) 1972.

The three novels are a continuing saga set in Khuzestan during three important periods: The days of nationalization of oil in 1951, the aftermath of the coup d'état which brought the Shah back to the throne in late August 1953, and Iraq's invasion of Iran in 1980.

In early 1990s Mahmoud published two collections of short stories: Didar (Visiting) 1990, Qesseh-ye Ashna (Familiar Tale) 1991, Az Mosafer Ta Tabkhal (From Passenger To Cold Sore) 1992, Madare-h Sefr Darejeh (Zero Degree Orbit) 1993, Adam-e Zendeh (The Live Human) 1997, and Derakht-e Anjir-e Ma'abed (The Fig Tree Of The Temples) 2000.

Set in Ahvaz, a city in southern Iran, 15-year-old Khaled lives in a rental house with his mother, sister, and seven other families.

After breaking the window of a gendarme’s house, Khaled is arrested, and taken to the police station, where a prisoner named Pendar asks him to deliver a message to his partner, Shafiq.