The Kermanshah Transfer
The Kermanshah Transfer, by Efrem Sigel
In the Middle East the names of the players remain the same, only the alliances and their geopolitical imperatives change.
Despite all the changes since the 1970s, this prescient novel of espionage and intrigue has the sights, sounds and conflicts of today’s headlines.
The Iranian capital of Tehran, caught between the lure of modernity and the weight of centuries of Islamic orthodoxy.
A fractured Iraq where different ethnic groups vie not just for survival but for dominance.
A Kurdish people bent on autonomy, with brave young men willing to fight and die for this dream.
A State of Israel surrounded by hostile forces but relentlessly seeking to strengthen whatever groups in Iran, Iraq or elsewhere can benefit from its aid and in so doing, enhance its own national security.
The Kermanshah Transfer is as fresh as today’s headlines.
Efrem's Other Works: Selected Short Stories, Memoirs and OpEds
"Born Again" (published as one of the 10 best in the Winter 2018 Sixfold competition)
"My Neighbor, Who My Wife Thinks is a Prostitute," (story, prize winner, Gemini, 2017)
"Dr. Henrietta Stern" (story, Per Se, 2013)
"Breathless Like Her Mother" (story, The MacGuffin, 2013)
"Working the Census: Bringing A Family Back to Life" (memoir, Antioch Review, 2011)
"Soup Kitchen, Mishna, Yoga, Kavannah" (memoir, The Journal, 2009)
"She Plays (story, Quercus Review, 2009)
"They Needed to be There" (memoir, The Jerusalem Post, 2008)
"Let There Be Light" (story, prize winner, Xavier Review, 2003)
"Ulpan Akiva" (memoir, Midstream Magazine, 2003)
"The Last Letter from Kumegawa" (story, prize winner, Nimrod, 2000)
"Aunt Sophia" (story, prize winner, Lynx Eye, 2000)
OpEds
"How to Close Rikers Island," New York Daily News, October 7, 2019
"Look Beyond Stuyvesant," New York Daily News, April 27, 2019
"Better School Reform," New York Daily News, December 12, 2018
For blog versions of these OpEds or to link to the online texts, click: http://efremsigel.blogspot.com/