WRITER

Kader Abdolah

1954 - Today

Photo of Kader Abdolah

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Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani (Persian: حسین سجادی قائم‌مقامی فراهانی), better known by his pen name Kader Abdolah (Persian: قادر عبدالله) (Arak, 12 November 1954), is an Iranian-Dutch writer, poet and columnist. His books, written in Dutch, often contain Persian literary themes. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Kader Abdolah has received more than 108,002 page views. His biography is available in 31 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 28 in 2019). Kader Abdolah is the 3,226th most popular writer (up from 3,691st in 2019), the 303rd most popular biography from Iran (down from 299th in 2019) and the 38th most popular Iranian Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 110k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 52.28

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 31

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.21

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.83

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

In de polder
De Koning
Buitenspiegels
My Father's Notebook
Fiction, Literature, Fathers and sons
On a holy mountain in the depths of Persia there is a cave with a mysterious cuneiform carving deep inside it. Aga Akbar, a deaf-mute boy from the mountain, develops his own private script from these symbols and writes passionately of his life, his family and his efforts to make sense of the changes the twentieth century brings to his country. Exiled in Holland a generation later, Akbar's son Ishmael struggles to decipher the notebook, reflecting how his own political activities have forced him to flee his country and abandon his family. As he gets closer to the heart of his father's story, he unravels the intricate tale of how the silent world of a village carpet-mender was forced to give way to one where the increasingly hostile environment of modern Iran has brought the family both love and sacrifice.
Dit mooie land
Het Huis van de Moskee
Fiction, Literature
In the house of the mosque, the family of Aqa Jaan has lived for eight centuries. Now it is occupied by three cousins: Aqa Jaan, a merchant and head of the city's bazaar; Alsaberi, the imam of the mosque and Aqa Shoja, the mosque's muezzin. The house itself teems with life, as each of their families grows up with their own triumphs and tragedies. Sadiq is waiting for a suitor to knock at the door to ask for her hand, while her two grandmothers sweep the floors each morning dreaming of travelling to Mecca. Meanwhile Shahbal longs only to get hold of a television to watch the first moon landing. All these daily dramas are played out under the watchful eyes of the storks that nest on the minarets above. But this family will experience upheaval unknown to previous generations. For in Iran, political unrest is brewing. The shah is losing his hold on power; the ayatollah incites rebellion from his exile in France; and one day the ayatollah returns. The consequences will be felt in every corner of Aqa Jaan's family.

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Kader Abdolah ranks 3,226 out of 7,302Before him are Roberto Calasso, Hilary Mantel, Kamalaśīla, Ford Madox Ford, Etgar Keret, and Luo Yixiu. After him are Antonio Beccadelli, Gaito Gazdanov, Claudius Salmasius, Jules Barbier, Evgeny Schwartz, and John VIII of Constantinople.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1954, Kader Abdolah ranks 179Before him are Wang Jianlin, Frank Bainimarama, Juanito, Margaux Hemingway, Yuji Kishioku, and Atif Dudaković. After him are Gerd Faltings, Pierre Dartout, Phil Taylor, Derek Warwick, Trevor Francis, and Cindy Breakspeare.

Others Born in 1954

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In Iran

Among people born in Iran, Kader Abdolah ranks 303 out of 631Before him are Mithridates V of Parthia (100), Hossein Salami (1960), Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari (1906), Amastrine (-400), Jafar Khan (1800), and Sadegh Khalkhali (1926). After him are Mohammad-Taqi Bahar (1886), Kushyar Gilani (971), Mahmoud Shabestari (1288), Azar Nafisi (1955), Ali Akbar Velayati (1945), and Sayed Morad Khan (1800).

Others born in Iran

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Among WRITERS In Iran

Among writers born in Iran, Kader Abdolah ranks 38Before him are Abolqasem Lahouti (1887), Saib Tabrizi (1592), Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi (995), Subh-i-Azal (1831), Mastoureh Ardalan (1805), and Sohrab Sepehri (1928). After him are Mohammad-Taqi Bahar (1886), Mahmoud Shabestari (1288), Azar Nafisi (1955), Jalal Al-e-Ahmad (1923), Ibn Bibi (1250), and Simin Behbahani (1927).