Member MahbodSeraji

Real Name

Mahbod Seraji

About Me

Hello Everyone,
My debut novel Rooftops of Tehran will be published by NAL - Penguin in May of 2009. The setting is Iran of the 1970's, a few years before the Shah was overthrown. I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Here's what some early readers have said:

Rooftops of Tehran is a richly rendered first novel about courage, sacrifice, and the bonds of friendship and love. In clear, vivid details, Mahbod Seraji opens the door to the fascinating world of Iran and provides a revealing glimpse into the life and customs of a country on the verge of a revolution. A captivating read."
-- Gail Tsukiyama, author of The Street of a Thousand Blossoms and The Samurai's Garden

“A stirring story about the loss of innocence, Rooftops of Tehran reveals a side of Iran understood by few Westerners. An ambitious first novel—full of humor, originality, and meaning. ” -
- John Shors, author of Beneath a Marble Sky

“Rooftops of Tehran evoked many memories, along with tears and smiles of starry nights on rooftops, long-lost loves, and intense, passionate feelings of anger at the injustices and the absurd excesses of the Pahlavi regime.” -- Nahid Mozaffari, editor of Strange Times, My Dear: The PEN Anthology of Contemporary Iranian Literature

“In his haunting debut novel, Mahbod Seraji brings humor and humanity to a story of secret love in the brutal last days of the Shah. Set against the background of repression that launched the Iranian revolution, Pasha’s and Zari’s story shows that love and hope among the young thrive even in the most oppressive of times. Seraji is a striking new talent.” -- Sandra Dallas, author of Tallgrass

“Rooftops of Tehran combines a coming of age love story with a compelling tale of struggle against dictatorship. You learn a lot about Iranian culture while coming to understand characters with universal appeal. This would make a great movie. Unfortunately, Iranian directors wouldn't be allowed to film it and American directors would move the story to New Jersey.-- Reese Erlich, author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of US Policy and the Middle East Crisis

"What a profound pleasure to discover such solid storytelling and splendid prose in a debut novel. With the voice of a poet, Seraji has told a universal tale of love, loss, and ultimately of hope. It is this hope, most of all, that will linger long after the last page is turned. Thank God for authors like Seraji, who show us that no matter how distant apart our worlds may be, in the humanness of our hearts we are all united."
-– William Kent Krueger, author of Red Knife and the award-winning Cork O’Connor series

“Beyond being a bittersweet love story, Rooftops of Tehran is a story of community. No reader will be unfamiliar to the situation of the alley -- the neighborhood -- where these characters are united and bound together by history, ritual, grief, respect, and by the bond of protection that arises under the brutality of an oppressive government. Rooftops of Tehran takes an uncommon and refreshing view of Iran in modern American fiction…and also reveals how an American immigrant is born out of a young foreigner's desperation for self-determination and social freedom.” -- Susanne Pari, author of The Fortune Catcher, and Program Director, Book Group Expo

Location

San Francisco

Homepage

http://www.rooftopsoftehran.com

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