A Tehran So Quiet

Twelve stories about Iranians making — and remaking — their lives between Tehran and Canada. A factory owner says a last goodbye before leaving Tehran for Vancouver. A woman's frustration with the 2009 election cracks open her comfortable life abroad. A husband endures an excruciating dinner with his equanimous father-in-law. Sisters on the outs reunite to settle family matters; a father reaches for connection with his young son after a divorce.

Ranging from quiet character studies to tragicomic farces, these are stories about the bargains we strike with family, love, and duty — and about what it costs to start over in a new land, where the old country's troubles arrive by phone call and never quite leave you alone.

“In Mehdi M. Kashani's riveting short story collection A Tehran So Quiet, Iranian immigrants navigate difficult and confusing relationships.” — Foreword Reviews

“Kashani grounds his stories in cultural and historic specificity without necessarily leaning on identity as a primary undercurrent. His writing style is straightforward, and the lack of fuss makes these stories compulsively readable. These stories feel lived in and complete, though not at all tidy. A refreshing collection.” — Kirkus Reviews

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