The Persians

In Mahloudji’s ebullient debut, a Persian family reckons with their exile and loss of prestige in the wake of the Islamic Revolution. In December 2005, middle-aged Shirin Valiat, a charismatic events planner based in Houston, is arrested for prostitution in Aspen, Colo., during a vacation with her family. News of Shirin’s arrest harms her thriving business, prompting her to move into her niece Bita’s cramped Manhattan apartment and court new clients at the funeral of a prominent Persian woman with ties to her estranged mother, Elizabeth, who still lives in Tehran. Mahloudji interweaves the story of Elizabeth’s life in the early 1940s, when she’s an aspiring painter and falls for Ali Lufti, the son of the family’s chauffeur. Eventually, Elizabeth marries a much older man, choosing her family’s approval over her love for Ali Lufti, but she’s deeply unhappy, especially as she abandons her art career to care for her three children, all of whom flee with their own children during the Revolution. Only Shirin’s six-year-old daughter, Niaz, remains with Elizabeth. Mahloudji keeps the reader turning the pages as Elizabeth teases and finally reveals her darkest secrets about Ali Lufti along with the reason behind Niaz’s remaining behind in Tehran. It’s a memorable family saga. Agent: Emma Paterson, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (Mar.)