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The Persians
- Author
- Sanam Mahloudji
- Narrator
- various
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 20 February 2025
- Run Time
- 13 hours 11 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Family life fiction / Stories about family, Family saga / generational saga fiction, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: identity / belonging
- Rating
- 4.5 (2 reviews)
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What to expect
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2025
‘Enormously entertaining’ THE TIMES
‘Unputdownable’ HARPER'S BAZAAR
‘Funny, sharp and insightful … a triumph’ LAUREN LAVERNE
‘Magnificent’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO
Five women. Three generations. A whole lot of family history.
The Valiat family are in crisis. Elizabeth, the regal matriarch, remained in Tehran despite the revolution with only the Islamic law-breaking Niaz for company. Meanwhile, in America, Shirin, Seema and Bita are wondering if their gleaming lives in ‘the land of plenty’ are all they had hoped for.
When an annual vacation goes wildly awry and Shirin is arrested, long-held Valiat family secrets begin to surface. As their lives are turned upside down, could revealing the truth save their family or might it break them apart, once and for all?
‘Funny, gutsy and confidently written … an outstanding debut’ DIANA EVANS, 2025 Women’s Prize Judge
‘Mesmerising’ MONICA ALI, author of Love Marriage
‘A joy of a debut’ DAVID MITCHELL, author of Utopia Avenue
‘Darkly funny, richly satisfying’ SARAH WINMAN, author of Still Life
‘As funny as it is moving’ GUARDIAN
‘Riotous … will have you hooked’ STYLIST
‘As exuberant as it is sharp’ iNEWS
‘A sweeping and irreverent tale’ BBC
‘Gloriously engrossing’ TASH AW, author of The South
‘Exuberant, comic, perceptive’ AMINA CAIN, author of Indelicacy
‘A very brilliant, very special book’ JESSICA STANLEY, author of Consider Yourself Kissed
‘An unforgettable read’ JOSIE FERGUSON, author of The Silence In Between
Critics Review
-
Praise for The Persians:
‘This polyphonic novel is brimming with larger-than-life characters … funny, gutsy and confidently written … outstanding’ Diana Evans, 2025 Women’s Prize Judge
‘I found myself lost in this beautifully written novel and laughing as much as I wept’ Pippa Evans, 2025 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction Judge
'Magnificent … I lapped up its wonderful characterisations, profound insights and vivacious prose' Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
‘A richly textured, sometimes tragic novel that’s enormously entertaining’ The Times
‘Unputdownable … an undoubtedly assured debut’ Harper's Bazaar
'The word-of-mouth breakout … will have you hooked from the first action-filled chapter' Stylist
‘Full of outrageous laughter, retaining its fire even in tender moments’ Observer
‘Mahloudji’s moving, madcap saga of women in exile [is] a relentlessly entertaining exploration of Iranian-American immigrant life’ Financial Times
‘It’s impossible to overstate how much I loved The Persians. Funny, sharp and insightful – this book is a triumph’ Lauren Laverne
‘A novel bursting with grudges, gossip and complex personal dynamics’ Mail on Sunday
‘Mahloudji writes with a wisdom and confidence rarely seen in a debut’ Guardian
‘Exuberant, whip-smart, infused with melancholy, tragicomic, huge-hearted and sharp-toothed … A joy of a debut novel by the real deal' David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas
'A wonderful multi-generational family drama with characters you really care about … I enjoyed it enormously' Marian Keyes, author of My Favourite Mistake
‘Mesmerising … 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 … darkly funny, richly satisfying’ Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
‘At once funny and profound, sprawling and personal’ Tash Aw, author of We, The Survivors
User Reviews
Book 4.5
Narration 4.5
-
4.0 4.0
It took me a bit of awhile to get into this book, and some of the narrators were not as strong as the others - but I am really glad I stuck with it, as this is an amazing novel. Some of the narrators were outstanding, especially the two representing the two women who still live in Iran.
I love a family saga and this one is as interesting and complicated as any I’ve ever read. I have never met a family quite like this one before, and I feel like I learned so much.
One of the characters really got on my nerves at the beginning of the book, but by the end I understood more about what she had gone through and why she was how she was. I loved how strong all the women were, in their very unique ways.
Once all the old secrets start coming out, the book gets more and more interesting and I thought it leads to quite a satisfying conclusion as well, with all the characters having gone through some kind of personal growth - although it is never sentimental or sanctimonious. This is a book that will probably stay with me for quite some time.A.Reader 2026-05-16
Details
- Author
- Sanam Mahloudji
- Narrator
- various
- Duration
- 13 hours 11 minutes
- Release Date
- 20 February 2025
- ISBN
- 9780008589080
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Family life fiction / Stories about family, Family saga / generational saga fiction, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: identity / belonging
- Rating
- 4.5(2 reviews)
- Narration
- 4.5(2 reviews)
Synopsis
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2025 ‘Enormously entertaining’ THE TIMES ‘Unputdownable’ HARPER'S BAZAAR ‘Funny, sharp and insightful … a triumph’ LAUREN LAVERNE ‘Magnificent’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO Five women. Three generations. A whole lot of family history. The Valiat family are in crisis. Elizabeth, the regal matriarch, remained in Tehran despite the revolution with only the Islamic law-breaking Niaz for company. Meanwhile, in America, Shirin, Seema and Bita are wondering if their gleaming lives in ‘the land of plenty’ are all they had hoped for. When an annual vacation goes wildly awry and Shirin is arrested, long-held Valiat family secrets begin to surface. As their lives are turned upside down, could revealing the truth save their family or might it break them apart, once and for all? ‘Funny, gutsy and confidently written … an outstanding debut’ DIANA EVANS, 2025 Women’s Prize Judge ‘Mesmerising’ MONICA ALI, author of Love Marriage ‘A joy of a debut’ DAVID MITCHELL, author of Utopia Avenue ‘Darkly funny, richly satisfying’ SARAH WINMAN, author of Still Life ‘As funny as it is moving’ GUARDIAN ‘Riotous … will have you hooked’ STYLIST ‘As exuberant as it is sharp’ iNEWS ‘A sweeping and irreverent tale’ BBC ‘Gloriously engrossing’ TASH AW, author of The South ‘Exuberant, comic, perceptive’ AMINA CAIN, author of Indelicacy ‘A very brilliant, very special book’ JESSICA STANLEY, author of Consider Yourself Kissed ‘An unforgettable read’ JOSIE FERGUSON, author of The Silence In Between
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