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. Disoriental by Negar Djavadi was definitely an emotional journey down memory lane for some of us She brilliantly depicts a picture of her tumultuous life by.

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. 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, uncontainable waves. Kimiâ Sadr fled Iran at the age of ten in the company of her mother and sisters to join her father in France. I learned an incredible amount about the revolutions in Iran and about the treatment of homosexuality in Iran. In this high-spirited, kaleidoscopic story, key moments of Iranian history, politics, and culture punctuate stories of family drama and triumph. This novel started slowly for me, but I ended up really enjoying the story and the tone.

In an article in the Augissue of Publishers Weekly, Louisa Ermelino said of DISORIENTAL: Djavadi captures the culture of Iran, her tone clever and amusing and uncritical. Full list > All Négar Djavadis books Elenco completo > Upcoming events Négar Djavadi, Domenico Starnone, and Jhumpa Lahiri to be featured speakers at the 2018 PEN World Voices Festival.

ONE OF THE GLOBE & MAIL’S BEST BOOKS OF 2018 Disoriental is Négar Djavadi’s debut and was selected by Lire magazine as the Best Debut Novel of 2016.

Disoriental novel