I so thought this was going to win the Women's Prize! Such a fascinating and enriching read! I was really really pulled into the character's worlds!

A brilliant debut novel with such an unique voice
Meet the Valliat family - in Iran they were wealthy somebodies, in America they’re nobodies
Spanning from 1940s Iran to New York in the 2000s the story interweaves from the view point of three generations of Iranian women, showing their charismatic family lifestyle
Shows you life after losing your country
Loved the strong female characters - the clever dialogue and witty observations
Thanks @sanammahloudji @4thestatebooks & @netgalley for the fabulous debut read

I know it's already late to share a review for this book on here but I just wanted to say that this book is amazing. The banter is top notch!

2.5 stars

This was actually the first Women's Prize longlistee I had and yet it was the last one I read. Gosh I found it hard work. There are so many characters that I couldn’t keep up with, and I found the language and narrative really unfriendly to read. It’s an interesting premise and a fascinating look at the difference between Western and Eastern cultures and stereotypes but I just didn’t like it. I found it so difficult to read, I found all the characters unlovable and over the top, full of cliches. It’s also all over the place and I just couldn’t keep on top of what we were meant to be feeling.

An interesting experience.
I can not say that I enjoyed this novel, it was too long and disjointed without sympathetic characters. Some of Elizabeth's history was significant in her treatment of her children and others her selfish act of keeping her Granddaughter in Iran and lying about it was an example.
The daughters and Grandchildren who moved to America were confused about their identity and place in society. The contrast between Iran and America was unimaginable.
A family in turmoil.
Thank you Sanam and NetGalley for this ARC.

I was halfway through this on audio when the #wpf25 shortlist was announced. It wasn‘t on my shortlist and I haven‘t changed my mind since.

I actually quite enjoyed it on audio - mainly vacuous rich people being obnoxious - but I don‘t understand why it was on the list - it wasn't special or groundbreaking. There was no ‘important message‘ and I didn‘t learn anything and, as is the trend these days, the book just ended with no resolution for most of the characters.

I felt like I needed a background in Iranian history in order to appreciate the context, rather than the book educating me.

Still 4 stars though.

A sweeping novel which explores family, identity, culture, politics, womanhood and legacy. Unflinching and brilliantly crafted. As other reviews mention, the intergenerational narrative - and shifting POVs - make this book feel so much sharper and engrossing. I'm astounded that this is a debut.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5)
A sweeping, beautifully written novel that blends history, identity, and personal legacy. Sanam Mahloudji offers a compelling and intimate look at a culture in flux, capturing the richness of Persian life while exploring generational change and disconnection. Evocative and intelligent—a story with real staying power.

This novel opens with a bang; as first lines go this has one of the most striking and it perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the book. If you thought this was going to be a ‘cosy’ family saga, the opening line tells you that it’s going to be anything but.

The story follows five women from three generations of a wealthy and prominent Iranian family. When the Revolution in Iran begins Elizabeth remains in Tehran with one of her granddaughters, whilst her two daughters and her other granddaughter move to the US.

We learn about the hardships faced by women living in Iran through the revolution and the small acts of defiance and resilience they share. In contrast the women who have left for the US find it difficult to ‘fit in’ and carve a life for themselves without the privileges they enjoyed in Iran.

It’s a story about women and identity from a multigenerational perspective. It’s about family history, how our actions affect our those around us and the devastating and rippling effects of family secrets.

The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji is a fantastic read—an absorbing, beautifully written novel that follows the lives of one Iranian family through the eyes of its women. Tracing their exile from Iran after the fall of the Shah and their attempts to rebuild their lives in the United States, it explores themes of money, power, identity, and belonging with remarkable depth.

What makes this novel particularly compelling is the way it examines not just the struggle of displacement but also the personal choices—both those made freely and those forced by circumstance—that shape the characters’ lives. Mahloudji’s writing is both gripping and elegant, drawing the reader into each woman’s world with remarkable intimacy. The shifting perspectives weave together to form a complex, layered narrative, offering insight not just into exile but also into those who remain behind, the weight of memory, and the emotional and psychological landscapes of those who live through seismic change. It’s a novel that lingers, both for its exquisite storytelling and its deeply human exploration of what it means to belong.

It took me a while to get into this novel , it’s a complex family tale following Elizabeth,her two daughters Shirin and Seema and her granddaughters Bita and Niaz. Elizabeth and Niaz live in Iran and the rest live in Los Angeles . Shirin commits a crime and Bita who is a law student tries to defend her . We have a story about different cultures and what it means for a woman to live in Iran and America. These women are strong willed and certainly have different personalities. They are wealthy and privileged because of money. We hear from all the women’s voices , so get a sense of how the family is sticking together but have many problems. It’s a story of motherhood , race , identity, wealth, culture and grief. I didn’t think it was an easy read ,maybe because of my ignorance of the Persian cultures and language but it was interesting in parts .

This book about family, identity and culture was an enjoyable read, I liked the different perspectives and the complex characters portrayed, although I did find the back and forth of the characters a little confusing. It’s an interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I love a good multi-generation family saga, and I was hoping The Persians might satisfy my cravings for it but alas.

The Persians follow 3 different generations . Each of these generations are uprooted differently, from Elizabeth who have spent her whole life in Tehran and stayed during the revolution, Shirin and Seema her daughters that had left for America during it, and her granddaughters Niaz who had stayed with her in Tehran and Bita who had spent most of her life in the US. When an annual trip to Aspen goes awry, a family's deep secret threatens itself to come out.

The synopsis of this book sounds really interesting, however I don't really think the story is as interesting as it made it seem? The plot that was offered in the synopsis was hardly a large part of this book and to me, I spent most of the time just witnessing how selfish, shallow and stubborn some of these characters are and witnessing them make bad decisions. I would've been fine with this if there was a good purpose behind it but I found none.

I do think it was interesting to see how the revolution had impacted each of them in a different way and the ending sort of made up for the book but it was definitely not what I had expected.

When I started reading I didn’t think I would be able to finish. A hugely unlikeable character who is rich and doing drugs. Nope, not my vibe. How wrong was I. There of course was still a hugely unlikeable character, but the multiple POVs, and the intergenerational story telling across Iran and the US made this book a great read. A fantastic debut.

WOW! What a book, what a voice - I absolutely inhaled this. The writing was sharp, sassy & spiky, and I loved cycling through the different generations of the Valiat family. From the first chapter I knew I was in the hands of a really wonderful storyteller.

When family history collides with the powers that be
—
Complex and facile, international and intimate, layered and direct: this is a book that resists easy distillation into one genre or form or style. Mahloudji writes from a place of intimate knowledge but also with plenty of flights of fancy. On the surface, this is a novel of an Iranian family seen from five points of view: the matriarch In Tehran accompanied by one of her granddaughters, a second voice, abandoned when the rest of the family fled to the States; the matriarch’s two daughters, the older more responsible and recently passed away, the younger more louche; and the last granddaughter, a lawyer-to-be in mourning for her supportive mother.

There are layers upon layers for each of these women, the things they’ve seen and done, the things they believe and say, the things about which they’re mistaken and misled. America was a dream of sanctuary at one time, but the reality makes the past even more of one, and the pull of family and the past is both a division and a unification. The book enthralled in its careful parcelling out of family history and myth, no one woman ever holding the whole of the family archive in their memories, in their stories, and in themselves. Recent history entwines with an entertaining family to give the reader a new vision of America and Iran and the memory of Persia.

Four and a half stars.

If I should describe this novel with a word would surely be “naive”. Naive is the story, naives are the main characters (come could say otherwise, but keep reading his review to understand why), naive is the writing style. Sanam Mahloudji’s “The Persians” perfectly finds its place among women’s fictions, a genre that seems to have conquered the literary world today (fortunately), so it doesn’t add anything new and I didn’t find any particular innovation. It’s a good novel, but it didn’t impresse me (and sometimes I even hated it).
Mahloudji’s debut follows he women of the Valiant Family, a sort of Iranian Kardashian family whose ancestor was a Great War hero and democracy champion for some, and a murderer for other. These women flawed, unlikeable, tough and complex, as what they lived, as their love stories. Characters one can easily hate, and not because of their tempers, but because of their naiveness, the one of the rich, the lack of empathy. Everyone of them hurt other people because they were hurt themselves, but thus doesn’t justify their stupid head blows, their stubbornness and superficiality. Bored and suffering rich women, too much prudent, superficial and mainly interested in how they appear, physically and morally, and thus destroying themselves and people around them. Shirking and her head blows; Elizabeth and her cowardice; Niaz and Bita, for their naiveness; Seema, poor Seema, her lack of hunger.
In the book is said Valiant family’s issues are provoked by money; in fact, Bita gave her whole patrimony away to charity (leaving only $5000 in her bank account, too little for living in New York City). As a working class young woman, I can say Bita’s choice was one of the most naive I’ve ever read: if Valiant women couldn’t fulfil their dreams (which one?), the reasons are a patriarchal system which kept women at home and lack of hunger. Bita is not hungry. Anyway, if you have ambitions and you’re hungry but you haven’t enough economic resource, it’s pretty difficult to succeed (especially in this economy!). Naive is even the way Bita and Niaz tried to help villages women: money transfer is not enough to lift their economic condition, but a systemic and programmatic vision is needed, but this topic is too complex to explain it here.
What I appreciated most was the ending, a sort of redemption and reconciliation which, I want to be honest, made me cry and I think is one of the best part of the novel. I also appreciated a lot, and I believe it’s really well done, the portrait of a migrant family that believe its status must be recognised even in a foreign country, especially in America, where family ancestry has little importance (indeed, Weber explained capitalism works very well in Anglo-Saxon countries because Calvinist value system pervades in them, i.e. that belief according to which people are predestined or not to salvation, and economic success is a proof of this predestination).
Writing style is properly defined and technically correct, as the novel structure, which I don’t find quite remarkable, I prefer other styles.
Generally, I think Sanam Mahloudji’s debut is a good start and it has many qualities. I’m sure her next works will be very good. And yet there parts of this novel I didn’t quite appreciate and it didn’t particularly imprese me. Even though I belong to the target this book is addressed to, I believe I’m just not the right reader for this one.

I saw The Persians recommended in Red Magazine as a debut novel of the year, and so requested an advance review copy from Net Galley and was granted it. Here's the blurb:

"A riotously funny and moving debut novel following five women from three generations of a once illustrious Iranian family as their lives are turned upside down
Meet the women of 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 remained in Tehran despite the revolution. She is kept company by Niaz, her young, Islamic-law-breaking granddaughter. In America, Elizabeth’s two daughters have built new lives for themselves. There’s Shirin, a flamboyantly high-flying event planner in Houston, who considers herself the family's future; and Seema, a dreamy idealist turned bored housewife languishing in Los Angeles. And then there's the other granddaughter, Bita, a disillusioned law student in New York trying to find deeper meaning by giving away her worldly 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 upper class veneer is cracked wide open and gossip about them spreads like wildfire. Soon, Shirin must embark upon a grand quest to restore the family name to its former glory. But what does that mean in a country where the Valiats never mattered to anyone? And, will reputation be enough to make them a family again?
Spanning from 1940s Iran into a splintered 2000s The Persians is an irresistible portrait of a unique family in crisis that explores timeless questions of love, money, art and fulfilment. Here is their past, their present and a possible new future for them all."

The book is a sweeping saga telling the story of the many generations of Valiat family from their origins in Iran to modern day America. Having had a friend whose parents left Iran around the time of the revolution, I thought it would be interesting to understand more about her culture.

Some of the characters are more likeable than others - but the back stories of all, and how they intertwine are interesting.

There didn't feel to be a strong 'storyline' - it was more a family drama in very different settings of time and geography.

Whilst I enjoyed it - and did find it educational at times - I'm not sure it's going to end up on my personal best books of 2025. But thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC. It was released last month - so you can order it now if you like the sound of it.

Sanam Mahloudji’s The Persians offers a nuanced examination of a once illustrious Iranian family attempting to maintain their identity across multiple generations and continents. The novel focuses on the Valiat women, whose prestige and influence in mid-century Iran stand in stark contrast to their diminished status in the United States. This disparity gives the story a compelling air of faded grandeur, which plays out against a backdrop of shifting cultural norms and evolving personal ambitions.

The family’s matriarch, Elizabeth, remains in Tehran, having chosen to stay despite the revolution that forever altered Iran’s political and social landscape. Her presence in the country offers insight into how those who did not leave must adapt or covertly push boundaries under new laws and watchful authorities. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s daughters, Shirin and Seema, establish separate paths in America, where the Valiat name holds no inherent value. Shirin pursues a career in event planning, unabashedly seeking success on her own terms, while Seema navigates the role of a bored housewife in Los Angeles, often torn between her idealistic youth and the confines of a suburban life that feels stifling.

The younger generation, Niaz in Tehran and Bita in New York, represent two vastly different experiences of womanhood. Niaz tests the limits of social and religious constraints at home, while Bita grapples with a desire to break free from her family’s wealth by giving away much of what she owns. Though these women occupy contrasting environments, both search for meaning on the fringes of expectation, highlighting the strain that displacement—and the lingering myth of Valiat prestige—can place on family members in divergent cultures.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is the way it weaves together individual perspectives without relying on overt comedy or excessive sentimentality. Instead, each chapter presents a distinct voice shaped by political upheaval, cultural transition, and personal aspiration. Seema’s chapters stand out, offering a thoughtful portrayal of a woman caught between a past filled with possibility and a present that feels quietly constraining. Her longing for something beyond her immediate surroundings resonates through the narrative, illustrating the emotional toll of displacement and compromise.

Mahloudji deftly shows how prestige can evaporate once removed from its original setting, leaving these women to question whether their family name is enough to preserve a sense of self. The novel’s exploration of faded grandeur feels authentic, with carefully rendered details about both Tehran and American suburbia underscoring the Valiats’ internal and external conflicts. While their once-powerful position in Iran allowed for a glamorous lifestyle, the difficulties of adapting to new environments place each character on an often-isolating path of self-discovery.

For readers who enjoy cross-generational family dramas that examine cultural dislocation, privilege, and the complexities of sustaining a legacy, The Persians offers a thoughtful and multi-layered story. Mahloudji presents a tapestry of personal struggles and triumphs, ultimately revealing how the drive for belonging spans nations and decades—yet remains profoundly intimate to each member of the Valiat family.

A truly unique novel, with fascinating insight into another culture and world. I loved that it resembled nothing else that I've read, and even beyond the setting and the character, the plot was truly novel.

The plot follows three generations of Iranian women and the political landscape they live in as some choose to seek a safer future. The women are deeply flawed in different ways, damaged by their upbringing in different ways. The book starts with outrageous behaviour from Shirin, who for me was the focal point of the story. A big, divisive, personality who has encountered too much privilege to be likeable (I always struggle with unlikeable main characters). Shirin has gone too far, and now finds herself in trouble with the law. Her niece is trying her best to save her.

Overall, I found the plot and characters fascinating and I enjoyed reading about another culture but I did find it too long.