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In this high-spirited, kaleidoscopic story, key moments of Iranian history, politics, and culture punctuate stories of family drama and triumph.
Kimiâ Sadr fled Iran at the age of ten in the company of her mother and sisters to join her father in France. Now twenty-five and facing the future she has built for herself as well as the prospect of a new generation, Kimiâ is inundated by her own memories and the stories of her ancestors, which come to her in unstoppable waves. In the waiting room of a Parisian fertility clinic, generations of flamboyant Sadrs return to her, including her formidable great-grandfather Montazemolmolk, with his harem of fifty-two wives, and her parents, Darius and Sara, stalwart opponents of each regime that befalls them.
It is Kimiâ herself––punk-rock aficionado, storyteller extraordinaire, a Scheherazade of our time, and above all a modern woman divided between family traditions and her own “disorientalization”––who forms the heart of this bestselling and beloved novel.
“A wonder and a pleasure to read.”—Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances
FINALIST - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION
WINNER OF THE ALBERTINE PRIZE • LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • LE PRIX DU ROMAN NEWS
STYLE PRIZE • 2016 LIRE BEST DEBUT NOVEL • LA PORTE DORÉE PRIZE
A GLOBE & MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2018
“A story of disorientation—national, familial and sexual—and finding oneself.”—The Globe and Mail
★ “Riveting . . . Djavadi is an immensely gifted storyteller.”—Booklist (starred review)
★ “Authentic, ambitious, richly layered, and very readable . . . every scene rings true.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Momentous . . . Disoriental convincingly and powerfully explores the enormous weight of one’s family and culture on individual identity.”—Publishers Weekly
“By turns heartbreaking and humorous . . . Djavadi vividly captures the pain of exile with passion and heart.”—Saleem Haddad, author of Guapa
“A tour de force of storytelling . . . Perfectly blends historical fact with contemporary themes.”—Library Journal
“[Djavadi] masterfully takes her reader through multiple parallel journeys in time and space . . . Her prose is rich, deep, lyrical, with a cinematographic quality.”—Los Angeles Review of Books