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The Persians

Sanam Mahloudji

$32.99

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English
Fourth Estate
05 March 2025
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025

'Enormously entertaining' THE TIMES

'The word-of-mouth breakout' STYLIST

'As funny as it is moving' GUARDIAN

'A joy of a debut' DAVID MITCHELL

'Glorious' SARAH WINMAN

A stunning debut novel following five women from three generations of a once eminent Iranian family as their lives are turned upside down

The Valiat family are in crisis. Elizabeth, the regal matriarch, remained in Tehran despite the revolution and only has Niaz, her Islamic law-breaking granddaughter for company. In America, Elizabeth’ s daughters, the flamboyantly high-flying Shirin and frustrated housewife Seema, are wondering if their new lives there are all they had hoped for. Lastly, there’s the second granddaughter, Bita, a disillusioned law student 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, gossip about the family spreads like wildfire. Soon, Shirin sets out 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?

The Persians is an irresistible portrait of a unique family in turmoil that explores timeless questions of love, money, art and fulfilment. Here is their past, their present and a possible new future for them all.

A most anticipated novel of 2025 in Stylist, BBC and iNews.

‘Funny, gutsy and confidently written … an outstanding debut’ DIANA EVANS, 2025 Women’s Prize Judge

'Mesmerising' MONICA ALI

'Riotous … will have you hooked' STYLIST

‘A darkly funny read about mothers and daughters, love and loss and being true to yourself’ RED

'As exuberant as it is sharp’ iNEWS

'A sweeping and irreverent tale' BBC

‘Gloriously engrossing’ TASH AW

‘Exuberant, comic, perceptive’ AMINA CAIN

'A very brilliant, very special book' JESSICA STANLEY
By:  
Imprint:   Fourth Estate
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 153mm,  Spine: 33mm
Weight:   480g
ISBN:   9780008589059
ISBN 10:   0008589054
Pages:   384
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Sanam Mahloudji was born in Tehran and grew up in Los Angeles after leaving Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Her fiction has won a Pushcart Prize and appears in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the Kenyon Review, the Idaho Review, Passages North and elsewhere. She was nominated for a 2018 PEN/Robert J Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers for her first published story.

Reviews for The Persians

'As exuberant as it is sharp’ iNEWS 'A sweeping and irreverent tale' BBC 'The word-of-mouth breakout … A funny, unexpected and riotous read, we guarantee The Persians will have you hooked from the first action-filled chapter' Stylist ‘Mahloudji writes with a wisdom and confidence rarely seen in a debut … Multigenerational stories of family anguish and upheaval remain as popular as ever, from … Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Elif Shafak’s stunning exploration of generational trauma, The Island of Missing Trees. The Persians earns a place alongside these heavyweights’ Guardian 'A wonderful multi-generational family drama with characters you really care about. I'm still thinking about them now. I enjoyed it enormously' Marian Keyes, author of My Favourite Mistake ‘A mesmerising debut that reminds us that our past travels with us … Gorgeously written, with a flair for the comic and characters that dance off the page and into your heart’ Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage ‘An ambitious, glorious feat. Five women's voices become one irresistible whole in this darkly funny, richly satisfying, wonderful debut’ Sarah Winman, author of Still Life ‘At once funny and profound, sprawling and personal, The Persians questions history’s grip on our lives—is it possible to free ourselves from the past, and do we even want to? Gloriously engrossing’ Tash Aw, author of We, The Survivors ‘An epic of intricate and beautiful proportion, The Persians is exuberant, comic and perceptive’ Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy ‘A witty and deeply absorbing saga … at once tragic and hilarious’ Dina Nayeri, author of Who Gets Believed? ‘Filled with heartbreak, humour, and so much love’ Vanessa Chan, author of The Storm We Made ‘Glitzy, gutsy and deliciously dark, a romp with serious things to say’ Samantha Ellis, author of Take Courage ‘Half outrageous, compulsive, shameless; half tender, loving and funny … a very brilliant, very special book’ Jessica Stanley, author of A Great Hope


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