it's a spellbinding debut * Mail on Sunday * Set in a vibrantly depicted Tehran and spanning a 30-year period leading up to the 1981 Iranian Revolution, Hozar's serpentine narrative shows how the inequality and corruption of Iranian society under the Shah gives way to something more sinister.

It is a book about a particular time and place yet also, and perhaps more importantly, about the common hopes and intimate longings of lives so forcibly invaded by national events * Hisham Matar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Return * a poised and dramatic historical novel with contemporary relevanceĪ beautiful book set against the pains and passions of the Iranian Revolution. A Doctor Zhivago of IranĪria is a feminist odyssey, about a girl in a time of intolerance as the revolution in Iran is breaking out. Warm-hearted, compelling, hugely enjoyable * Times *Ī sweeping saga about the Iranian revolution as it explodes - told from the ground level and centre of the chaos. An impressive debut, not easily forgotten * Observer * leaves you simultaneously heartbroken and full of hope * Sunday Times *Įxplores the darkness and hope of a city on the brink of revolution. Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd ISBN: 9780241987667 Number of pages: 448 Weight: 310 g Dimensions: 195 x 126 x 23 mm MEDIA REVIEWSĪn affecting portrait of the Iranian revolution. An impressive debut, not easily forgotten' Observer 'Explores the darkness and hope of a city on the brink of revolution. 'Warm-hearted, compelling, hugely enjoyable' Times 'Leaves you simultaneously heartbroken and full of hope' Sunday Times 'Sweeping, cinematic and oh-so-gripping' Sunday Telegraph And then, just as the political turmoil in the country deepens, Aria falls in love with a boy caught on the wrong side of the revolution. As Aria grows she is torn between the three women fated to mother her: the harsh wife of the man who rescued her a wealthy widow, who offers her refuge but cannot offer her love and the mysterious Mehri, whose secrets will shatter everything Aria thought she knew about herself. In an alleyway an abandoned baby cries into the night, attracting the attention of the young man who will save her.Īnd so begins the story of Aria, an orphan girl who comes of age on the volatile streets. a Doctor Zhivago of Iran' Margaret Atwoodġ950s Tehran. 'A sweeping saga about the Iranian revolution as it explodes.

Aria by Nazanine Hozar