SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025 'Enormously entertaining' THE TIMES 'As
funny as it is moving' GUARDIAN 'A joy of a debut' DAVID MITCHELL 'Magnificent' BERNARDINE
EVARISTO 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 'I lapped up its wonderful
characterisations profound insights and vivacious prose' BERNARDINE EVARISTO 'Mesmerising'
MONICA ALI 'Darkly funny richly satisfying' SARAH WINMAN '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 'An unforgettable read' JOSIE FERGUSON
