Hushang Golshiri's Āyinah-hĀ-yi DardĀr is not an easy read. Its possibilities do not present themselves without effort, and, on first reading the novel does not generate a very positive reaction. In fact, for reasons that will be discussed later, the first reading brings up seemingly negative points about this work. It is essential to underline these seemingly negative points because when one takes into account the technical structure of the novel, those same negative points change into the elements which give Āyinah-hĀ-yi DardĀr its strength. To provide a context for the description of these elements, we should begin with a short summary of the story.
Āyinah-hā-yi Dardār is a quasi-travelogue. Ebrahim, the narrator, is a writer who rehearses the elements of his travelogue chiefly through writing about the process of writing the travelogue. He talks about his trip to a few European countries and retells parts of stories he has read to different Iranian communities residing abroad.