The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji is unlike anything I’ve ever read. A portrait of a prominent Persian family, most of whom moved to America in 1979. Mahloudji is brave enough to create characters who are sometimes unlikeable yet always compelling. I had my opinions about Iran challenged and felt I entered a world of privilege and also extreme loss, where the significance of class, money and culture shift and are redefined. The decision to leave Iran in the face of the Islamic revolution seems like an obvious one, but The Persians reveal the complexity and contradictions in choosing to stay or go. A really interesting read.

Beautifully written with strong female characters. I enjoyed learning more about a culture I knew little about.


A family confronts a past that is both keeping them together and preventing them from breaking free.

Meet the Valiat family. In Iran they were somebodies. In America they’re nobodies. First there is Elizabeth, the regal matriarch with the famously large nose who stayed in Tehran during the revolution. Her daughters, Shirin and Seema, left for America in 1979. She lives in a shabby apartment, paranoid and alone—except when she is visited by Niaz, her Islamic-law–breaking granddaughter who takes her debauchery with a side of purpose yet somehow manages to survive. The other granddaughter, Bita, is a self-righteous but lost law student spending her days in New York City eating pancakes and quietly giving away her belongings.

When an annual vacation in Aspen goes wildly awry and Shirin ends up being bailed out of jail by Bita, the family’s brittle status quo cracks open. Shirin embarks upon a grand but half-baked quest to restore the family name—but what does that even mean in a country where the Valiats never mattered? Will they ever realize that life is more than just an old story?

Really enjoyable sweeping saga of Iranian people told from a female perspective. The book works with a combination of character driven story and narrative along with a clever plot. There's a lot of humour and this is perfevtly pitched.
I enjoy a book that takes me to places and situations that I'm less familiar with and this did that. Also the cover design is everything. So beautiful.
Great book and I look forward to more from this author.

The blurb for this one sounded quite good but unfortunately is not for me and I DNF. The characters were unliakeble from the very beginning. There were also lots of stuff going on early on that I wasn't comfortable or interested in reading about (such as the use of drugs). The writing style wasn't for me either.

Thank you to the author, Sanam Mahloudji, the publisher, Fourth Estate and Net Galley for the digital ARC - this review is not biased and 100% my own.

The first thing that drew me in was this is a book about Iranian women written by an Iranian woman. The only other books I’ve read have been written by men, so it already tickled the sweet spot of more women authors and more genres I don’t usually read.

But it was a treat. I honestly couldn’t put it down and resented being forced to put it down to do things like sleep and travel. I just had to know what was going to happen with Shirin because she is an absolute blast! I love her. I did feel like her story was wrapped up in a way that was a little unsatisfying. I kept turning pages hoping there would be more.

Elizabeth - wow. What a complicated and painful but beautiful life. The image of her turning [########################################################################] - my dear lady. But at 80 years old and getting it - you go girlfriend.

My sweet, Bita. ONE OF US! I knew it. Queen doing queen shit.

Whereas Niaz, I fear anything I say about dear Niaz is a spoiler. Is she just our sacrificial lamb after all this? So close but so far.

I appreciated having Seema’s chapters to round everything out. It made a lot of sense and helped a lot to give depth and emotional oomph to the story. But ouchies. :(

I will definitely be buying my own copy of this one when it comes out to see the differences and also just so I can lend it to people and get everyone to read it.