Maskh Persian 2025

Sadeq Hedayat’s translation of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is based on Hedayat’s personal and revised manuscript, accompanied by color images of this original version. This edition can be regarded as the fulfillment of Hedayat’s final literary testament regarding his translation of Kafka’s work.

In one of his rare letters from Paris, written less than three months before his suicide, Hedayat wrote to Anjavi Shirazi:

“Regarding The Metamorphosis, you had written about it. Since I gave Qayemian my verbal permission to compare it and publish it, he may exceptionally do so, but on the condition that he states that it is with special permission from the author or translator... He only has the right to publish The Metamorphosis using the revised copy that is beside him.”

This edition has therefore been prepared from the same “revised” manuscript that Hedayat had entrusted to his friend Hasan Qayemian. As this version differs noticeably from other published translations of The Metamorphosis in terms of textual authenticity and the accuracy of recorded expressions, this publication can be considered the realization of Hedayat’s final literary wish.