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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

Publisher Review

‘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 My Favourite Mistake

‘An ambitious, glorious feat. Five women’s voices become one irresistible whole in this darkly funny, richly satisfying, wonderful debut’ Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

‘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

‘An epic of intricate and beautiful proportion, The Persians is exuberant, comic and perceptive’ Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy

‘A witty and deeply absorbing saga of a family whose fate is intertwined with modern Iran’s … 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?

‘Filled with heartbreak, humour, and so much love … 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 international bestseller, The Storm We Made

‘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

‘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’ Edan Lepucki, author of California

‘Half outrageous, compulsive, shameless; half tender, loving and funny: Sanam Mahloudji’s The Persians is a very brilliant, very special book’ Jessica Stanley, author of A Great Hope