The Persians

The Persians opens with one of the characters going absolutely wild for seemingly little reason. As the story continues, the characters continue to act in unexpected ways, but the reader discovers the pain behind their behaviours. While not all the characters are likeable, they are fascinating.

The story opens with Shirin, a middle-aged woman, getting in trouble for trying to solicit a police officer. For the family, they know Shirin is wild, but this time she’s gone too far. Add to that a spending spree at a jewellery store, meeting the police and throwing watches all over Aspen. It’s time to backtrack to find out who Shirin and her family are. She is one of the Valiats, known for being descended from the Great Warrior in Iran. But show more in America, that means nothing. Shirin, her sister Seema and their children – excluding Niaz, who stayed in Iran with grandmother Elizabeth – left Iran during the revolution for America. They’ve been struggling to find their identity and where they fit ever since, including granddaughter Bita. As the story heads towards Shirin’s trial in Aspen, where she could be deported, each woman tells their past and present in alternating chapters. Niaz reflects on growing up in Iran and what she can and can’t do. Elizabeth thinks about her struggles in her youth and the secrets that are very close to being discovered. Bita thinks about what she does and doesn’t want from life and Seema reflects on the life she lived. Shirin is probably the most difficult to find out what’s going on as she is the most performative and reactive over discussing her feelings – but unpredictability is what makes her so intriguing as a character.

All the women feel like outsiders, whether it be as immigrants in America or in Iran. They feel boxed in by their name, society’s expectations and the past. It was difficult to like the characters as they could be hard to read, particularly as to why they made some of the decisions they did. At times it felt like details like that were skipped over, which would have given more insight into their characters. Some aspects of the plot were also a bit slow for me, such as Elizabeth’s youth (could have been more summarised) and Niaz’s partying days. I felt that Shirin overshadowed the other characters except for Elizabeth at times.

The book gave a good insight into Persian culture and the troubles in Iran before and after the revolution, particularly the restrictions and roles for women. It’s clear that family is a very strong part of that culture and that the Valiats do love each other in their own way. Having strong women tell this story about family and secrets made it stronger but at times it did drag for me.

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The Publisher says " A darkly funny, life affirming debut novel following from a once illustrious Iranian family as they grapple with revolutions personal and political ."

I closed the book and wondered, how did this get on The Women's Prize for Fiction, never mind the Shortlist ?

It's a family saga about women who live in both Iran and the USA. There are a variety of women, young and old, and all rich. They have personal and family problems. At times it was fairly entertaining, but I don't know how it came to be on this years Women's Prize List.

1.5 This is a reprint from 2024 Germany. Publisher ‏ : ‎ Piper ebooks; 1st edition (May 31, 2024)

Darkly funny" this book was not. Dark, yes; funny, no. Too many generations of self-centered, selfish elitists who come to this country to escape persecution (and of course never file for a green card) and try to be the same things - well, most of them try. I was trepaditious when in the first chapter we see nearly the whole lot of them doing coke, drinking, and stealing. And pretty much trashing a hotel room in Aspen, Colorado, while there for a family reunion for Christmas.

For me, the book went downhill from there. I get bored when most of any book is centered on introspection - pages and pages of woe is me.

I gave it my best shot and show more made it to 50% of this book. This was enough for me to give my honest opinion.

*ARC supplied by Blackstone Publishing, Inc/Scribner, the author, and NetGalley. show less