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The Persians

A Novel

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About The Book

Longlisted for The Women’s Prize • Named a most anticipated book by Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly, The BBC, Daily Mail (London), and more

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 reader’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.

Reading Group Guide

Reading Group Guide

The Persians

Sanam Mahloudji

This reading group guide for The Persians includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Introduction

The women in the Valiat family have complicated relationships. They are mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and cousins, connected by a storied name that at best means anonymity and irrelevance in America and at worst spells ridicule as well as a fear of unwanted attention from the Islamic Republic of Iran. One of the Valiat women, Shirin, a flamboyant Houston event planner, gets arrested for attempted prostitution while in Aspen, which triggers a series of events that results in the women of her family—her niece, Bita, a law student studying in New York City; her mostly estranged daughter, Niaz; and her mother, Elizabeth—coming together and confronting the truths about their collective past, all while Seema, Shirin’s late older sister, wanders through a purgatory-like existence.

Topics & Questions for Discussion

1. The novel is divided into three sections: “A Second Face,” “We Like Poison,” and “Operation Ajax.” How do the events within each part relate to their respective titles?

2. Early in the novel (page 19), Bita asks herself, “What kind of Persian was I?” Discuss how Bita tries to make sense of her identity throughout the novel. How do you think she would answer this question by the end of the novel? How would the other characters answer it for themselves?

3. Shirin expounds on the importance of jewelry, saying, “When you evacuate, you take your jewels. All our Revolution stories involve jewelry” (page 20). What is the significance of jewelry in this story?

4. The novel rotates the first-person perspective between Bita, Shirin, Niaz, and Seema, but uses the third person when with Elizabeth. What does this narrative style do for your reading experience? How would things change if Elizabeth’s sections were narrated in first person?

5. The first Elizabeth section begins “This is a story of a nose” (page 41). Elizabeth’s family teases her about her large nose, which makes her obsess over it. How does this influence Elizabeth’s choices and sense of self? Had Elizabeth’s nose not been so notable, how might her life have been different?

6. The mother-daughter relationships in the novel are often fraught. How is motherhood represented in these relationships? Do you think certain characters might make better mother-daughter pairs? Why or why not?

7. Several characters comment on how their Iranian heritage is devalued in America. Shirin calls America “the history killer” (page 20), and while in therapy, Bita narrates that “nobody cared who your great-great grandfather was” (page 91). What does it mean to live in a country where one’s lineage is unrecognized? For characters like Bita and Mo, what does it mean to be Iranian American?

8. Both Elizabeth and Niaz take charge of their sexuality as young women—Elizabeth through art and Niaz with Kian, a boy who is her gateway into political activities. How is female sexuality explored in the novel and how does it relate to the characters’ personal development?

9. Elizabeth and Niaz tell their respective love stories, Bita is forging a new romance with a woman, Shirin craves male attention, and Seema’s most loving relationship was with her grandmother. How does the pursuit or lack of love shape the characters’ lives?

10. Though the Valiat name means little in America, the characters still benefit from their family money. Discuss how wealth and status influence the characters’ choices and behavior throughout the book.

11. The Valiats are descendants of Babak Ali Khan Valiat, “the Great Warrior,” the source of their prestige. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that there are conflicting accounts of this figure, one of which greatly startles Seema. Talk about conflicting narratives and how contradiction plays a role in the story.

12. Niaz stands as the only character we see interacting in great detail with contemporary Iran. What do you think is her greatest strength? Weakness? Why?

13. Consider the following line (page 23): “We are born artists, us Persians, born dreamers. Even if we express it in high finance or dentistry.” Elizabeth draws and paints, Bita is an aspiring writer, Niaz writes poetry, Seema designs labels for jam jars. You could even say that Shirin is an artist in the way she has created her persona. What role does art and being an artist play in the book?

14. While there is a collective coming together, each character also goes on her own journey. Are Bita, Elizabeth, Shirin, Seema, and Niaz changed by the end of the book? If so, how? What changes each woman? If not, in what ways hasn’t she changed? What do you think stops her and why?

15. The novel ends in March 2006. Why do you think the story doesn’t take us to present day? How might life have changed for the family in the years since? Can you imagine what their lives might be like today?

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Early in the novel, Shirin notes that Iranians “have a lineage of the greatest poets on earth” (page 22) and mentions “Hafez and Saadi and Ferdowsi and Farrokhzad.” Look up these poets and read some of their work.

2. Iranian history and politics are integral to The Persians, particularly the Islamic revolution of 1979. How much did you know about Iranian politics prior to reading this book? Consider researching further into the relevant history.

About The Author

Photo by Amaal Said

Sanam Mahloudji was born in Tehran and left during the Islamic Revolution. She is the recipient of the Pushcart Prize and was nominated for a PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, The Idaho Review, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Mahloudji was raised in Los Angeles and now lives in London with her husband and two children. The Persians is her debut novel.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (March 4, 2025)
  • Length: 384 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668015797

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Raves and Reviews

“Mahloudji writes with a wisdom and confidence rarely seen in a debut, and her sharp observations are humorous and poignant… Multigenerational stories of family anguish and upheaval remain as popular as ever, from Abraham Verghese’s beautiful The Covenant of Water, to the quiet excellence of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko. The Persians earns a place alongside these heavyweights. It is as funny as it is moving, as perceptive as it is pithy. This is a story of Iranian women, told by an Iranian woman, and the men remain on the periphery.” —Joanna Cannon, The Guardian

“Exuberant, whip-smart, infused with melancholy, tragicomic, huge-hearted and sharp-toothed—like the proud sisters, aunts, mothers and nieces who populate its pages. Seventy years of Iranian and diaspora history are the backdrop to this swirling portrait of an emigre family, glinting with read-out-loud sentences. A joy of a debut novel by the real deal.” —David Mitchell

“Highly entertaining... a novel full of outrageous laughter, retaining its fire even in tender moments, and relishing the challenge of locating beauty and complexity.” The Observer

“This multigenerational novel captures repercussions with drama and humor.” San Francisco Chronicle

“By turns comic and affecting, the saga of the Valiat women conveys hard truths about women’s lives along with a healthy dose of couture and jewelry. The glitz never outshines the heart here.” Kirkus

“Ebullient…Mahloudji keeps the reader turning the pages…a memorable family saga.” Publishers Weekly

“Debut novelist Mahloudji deftly shifts among the perspectives of her characters in this irreverent yet deeply felt story of an immigrant family grappling with their past.” Booklist

“Mahloudji’s moving, madcap saga of women in exile [is] a relentlessly entertaining exploration of Iranian-American immigrant life... holds the high-lo glitz and gutter appeal of the best immigrant epics such as Marjane Satrapi's chronicles.” The Financial Times

“A mesmerizing debut that reminds us that our past travels with us, and that our actions and inactions reverberate down the generations. Gorgeously written, with a sharp ear for dialogue, a flair for the comic and characters that dance off the page and into your heart.” —Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage

“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 Rachel's Holiday

“An irresistible novel about a singular yet wholly recognizable family. I fell in love with the women in the Valiat family: by turns feisty and foolish, wise and secretive, and full of so much love and longing it took my breath away. Sanam Mahloudji writes with such humor and zip that the heartbreak sneaks up on you. This is a remarkable debut.” —Edan Lepucki, author of California

The Persians is an ambitious, glorious feat of juggling. Five women’s voices become one irresistible whole in this darkly funny, richly satisfying, wonderful debut.” —Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

“Filled with heartbreak, humor, and so much love, The Persians is a sharp exploration of the concerns of a wealthy Iranian family. Sanam Mahloudji takes us on a journey to reshape our understanding of power, heritage, and ancestry—and brings a rare wisdom to the chaos of family.” —Vanessa Chan, author of The Storm We Made

“An epic of intricate and beautiful proportion, The Persians is exuberant, comic, and perceptive. I fell in love with the women of the Valiat family and won't soon forget them.” —Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy

“Half outrageous, compulsive, and shameless; half tender, loving, and funny: The Persians is a very brilliant, very special book.” —Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed

“A captivating family saga, equally tragic and comic, The Persians is an unforgettable read with complex, chaotic characters you can’t help but love.” —Josie Ferguson, author of The Silence in Between

“A witty and deeply absorbing saga of a family whose fate is intertwined with modern Iran’s. I always knew epic Iranian families like the Valiats existed, I had just never met any. These five fierce, passionate, wounded women are at once tragic and hilarious, each voice meticulously crafted and singularly true.” —Dina Nayeri, author of Who Gets Believed?

“Glitzy, gutsy and deliciously dark, a romp with serious things to say about misogyny, generational trauma and losing your home.” —Samantha Ellis, author of Take Courage

“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? A gloriously engrossing debut.” —Tash Aw, author of We, The Survivors

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