"[A] tenderhearted début novel . . . A wide-ranging narrative, showing the enduring ramifications of filial and political violence."

― THE NEW YORKER

"In her debut novel, Ghaffari addresses the political concerns of the period through an intense portrait of a family struggling against them."

― ANNABEL GUTTERMAN, TIME

"Ghaffari’s fiery debut tenderly depicts a family against the harrowing backdrop of the 1979 Iranian revolution."

― DAVID CANFIELD, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"More than the Iranian revolution, it’s a meditation on the nature of stories―the way they shape our lives and the power they have to not only enrich, but sustain us."

― RACHEL LEÓN, CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS

"Ghaffari skillfully illustrates the very human consequences of political history."

― THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

"An old-school family saga, lush and many-voiced . . . It’s a delight."

― LILY MEYER, ELECTRIC LITERATURE

"Evocative debut set during the Iranian Revolution . . . Ghaffari delves into her characters with sensitivity for their positions and differences. Readers will savor the emotional depth of one family’s experience of the terrifying effects of religious fundamentalism and political instability."

― PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Ghaffari’s exciting debut is a family epic centered on several months in 1979 . . . Ghaffari weaves each character’s deep history into the novel, creating a very complete world. Her poetic prose relays deep and intimate emotion in a single line; its richness makes characters' joys and tragedies palpably felt by readers, too. This is a beautifully written story of a family's upheaval and its roots in their own history."

― BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

"A story of grand scale told with humility, precision and vivid sensory detail . . . This is a rich, evocative and thoroughly impressive first novel."

― EMMA LEVY, SHELF AWARENESS (STARRED REVIEW)