The Persians

By: Sanam Mahloudji

Narrated by: Donia Bijan, Lanna Joffrey, Nikki Massoud, Mozhan Navabi

Shortlisted for The Women's Prize • Named a Most Anticipated Book by Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly, The BBC, Daily Mail (London), and more

"Mahloudji writes with a wisdom and confidence rarely seen in a debut, and her sharp observations are humorous and poignant…as funny as it is moving, as perceptive as it is pithy." —The Guardian

A darkly funny, life-affirming debut novel following five women from a once illustrious Iranian family as they grapple with revolutions personal and political.

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 remained in Tehran despite the revolution. She lives alone but is sometimes visited by Niaz, her Islamic-law-breaking granddaughter, who takes her partying with a side of purpose and yet manages to survive. Elizabeth's daughters wound up in America: Shirin, a charismatic and flamboyantly high-flying event planner in Houston, who considers herself the family's future, and Seema, a dreamy idealist turned housewife languishing in the chaparral-filled hills of Los Angeles. And then there's the other granddaughter, Bita, a disillusioned law student in New York City trying to find deeper meaning by quietly giving away her belongings.

When an annual vacation in Aspen goes wildly awry and Shirin ends up in jail, the family's upper-class veneer is cracked open. Shirin embarks upon a quest to restore the family name to its former glory, but what does that mean in a country where the Valiats never mattered? Can they bring their old inheritance into a new tomorrow?

By turns satirical and philosophical, spanning from 1940s Iran to a splintered 2000s, The Persians upends the listener's expectations while exploring questions about love, family, money, art, and how to find yourself and each other when your country is lost. Wry and witty, brazen and absurd, The Persians is a deeply moving reinvention of the American family saga.

©2025 Sanam Mahloudji (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

Excellent

This is one of the best books I've listened to this year. Well-written and perfectly paced, the book follows the female members of an Iranian family, some of whom emigrated to the US after the revolution. The story takes you into the family's history and into the lives of complicated, imperfect characters. Additionally, I discovered more about Iran's recent history.

Multiple characters narrate the story and the actors do a great job of portraying each's personality. The different points of view work for this book.

Beautifully written. A balance of humor and depth.

I loved this book. It’s one of my favorites this year! The narration was perfect.