The Persians, Sanam Mahloudji
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE 2025
If you’re into books about multigenerational stories, you will love The Persians. It follows three generations of women from the Valiat family, some of whom moved to the US during the revolution and others who stayed in Iran. Through its multiple perspectives, the story grapples with the fundamental question of how to live in the present when the past continues to cast such a significant shadow.
This is a very plot heavy book, but that is not to say there is the character development is in any way overshadowed. In fact, the plot mainly serves as a multifaceted character study; even though we are taken through multiple timelines and storylines, as well as flashbacks and streams of consciousness, the novel is never difficult to follow. Getting to know these carefully and distinctly crafted women feels easy and joyous despite the heavier topics tackled in the story.
And because we so easily find ourselves part of these women’s lives, we feel for them even when they make choices we don’t agree with – even when we actively dislike them. There is a similar balance struck with the plot, too. We are enveloped in the comfort of an entertaining family dynamic that soon exposes to us a side more different and difficult. This is a book both fun and sad – a balance difficult to attain but executed perfectly here by Sanam Mahloudji.
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