Publishers Weekly
03/18/2024
Khakpour’s wry latest (following the essay collection Brown Album) introduces the Milanis, a wealthy Persian family living in Los Angeles. The Milanis have courted fame ever since patriarch Al struck frozen food gold in the 1980s with Pizzabomme (“like Cinnabon but Pizza”), which led to a viral TV commercial. Their celebrity is taken to new heights when 18-year-old Roxanna, the self-assured second of four daughters, secures a deal for a reality show in early 2020. The news invites mixed reactions in the family—Al is thrilled for the publicity, but his depressive wife, Homa, is ambivalent. Violet, the oldest daughter and a model, goes along with the show, while shrewd third daughter Mina worries her newfound queerness may be exposed. Haylee, the youngest at “fourteen going on twenty-four,” sees the show as her big break. Escalating events—first the fear of war with Iran after the U.S. assassinates an Iranian general and then the Covid-19 pandemic—threaten to torpedo the show, however. During lockdown, the Milanis cope with their stress by logging on to social media, using drugs, or pretending everything is fine, and stick largely to their own corners of the mansion. Khakpour’s commitment to giving equal weight to each character means that the narrative structure occasionally feels diffuse. For the most part, though, she provides a vibrant sense of place and an indelible family portrait. This has plenty of heart. Agent: Susan Golomb, Writers House. (June)
From the Publisher
Praise for Tehrangeles
Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by TIME, Vogue, New York Post, Harper's Bazaar, W Magazine, The Week, The National, Nylon, Bustle, Our Culture, Lit Hub, The Millions, Electric Literature, Katie Couric Media, Seattle Times, Chicago Review of Books, Alta Journal, Write or Die, and Library Journal
"[An] irresistible voice…Compulsively readable…Think the Kardashians meet Little Women and Crazy Rich Asians…An indelible, uproarious snapshot of young womanhood."
—Vogue
“Like Little Women on an ayahuasca trip, Tehrangeles is delightfully twisted and heartfelt. If you set a TikTok mukbang at a Crazy Rich Persian wedding, you’d still have a long way to go to capture the extravagant eccentricities of the Milani sisters. Khakpour is a satirist extraordinaire who astutely captures the zeitgeist of a culture and a place where ‘reality’ is just something you livestream and truth is a billion times stranger than fiction. The antics and agonies of the Milani family had me googling pet psychics and turning the pages gleefully—at turns surprised and horrified, but always charmed and laughing so hard."
—Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians and Lies and Weddings
“[A] biting, clever tragicomic…Think: Reality TV, Los Angeles McMansions, and a fast food empire.”
—Nylon
“Dazzling…If at first that potent mix reminds readers of novels of manners such as Jane Austen’s or Jennifer Egan’s, keep going: The author has a very specific forerunner in mind, one that not only reflected its time and place and characters, but also put the spotlight on female relationships…Of course, it’s Little Women by Louisa May Alcott…However, if Tehrangeles is a version of Little Women, it’s Little Women as a 1990s mixtape…Tehrangeles takes inspiration from Little Women, it’s no pale imitation. This novel is entirely its own Rube Goldberg machine of ups and downs and ins and outs and arguments and ‘hugging it out’ between four thoroughly modern mademoiselles…[A] sweet, messy, modern disco ball of a book with a glitter bomb of joy.”
—Los Angeles Times
“A literary phenom.”
—Seattle Times
“Imagine a social media savvy Little Women rooted in an Iranian-American enclave in Los Angeles, toss in a potential reality show, add a world-changing global pandemic and it still doesn’t fully encompass the twisty tumult and pleasure in Porochista Khakpour’s new novel, Tehrangeles…A pitch-perfect sendup of reality TV, the untruthiness of social media, and the challenge of living an authentic life in such murky waters. Khakpour’s sharp wit also examines cultural identity, assimilation, economic inequities, consumerism, and social mediafication of modern life, while never losing the main thread of this lively family…Memorable and outrageous.”
—Chicago Review of Books, "'Crazy Rich West Asians Meet Euphoria': Porochista Khakpour's Vibrant Novel, Tehrangeles"
“Get ready to meet your next favorite literary family…Tehrangeles is an iridescent satire that has its finger firmly on the pulse of our modern culture; a hilarious and tragic novel that quickly unravels into the delightful chaos of a dysfunctional family.”
—Chicago Review of Books, "12 Must-Read Books of June 2024"
“A real crowd-pleaser.”
—Bustle
“Wildly entertaining…Expect plenty of sharp satire and hilariously accurate observations about the ultra-rich in this pop culture fan’s dream read.”
—The Skimm
“What if Little Women were a brilliant satire that featured über-wealthy Gen Y Iranian teenagers in Los Angeles?...Wonderfully campy.”
—Alta
“A fun and fabulous exploration of a slice of LA that I knew little about.”
—Katie Couric Media
“Funny, devastating, and filled with dazzlingly accurate observations about the absurdities of our age, this is a story and family that will stay with you long after you finish. It’s a giddy and gaudy life that the Milanis lead but underneath the bravado lies a tenderness that Khakpour reveals with playfulness and marvelous narrative style.”
—Marjan Kamali, author of The Stationery Shop
"Like all great satires, Porochista Khakpour's Tehrangeles is both hilarious and heartfelt. With razor-sharp writing, Khakpour brings to life a family, a place, and a series of modern dilemmas that will leave you laughing, thinking, and wanting more."
—Abdi Nazemian, author of Only This Beautiful Moment
“Porochista Khakpour has lowkey written a hilarious book about a truly terrible time. Tehrangeles takes us inside the surreal world of the wealthy and beautiful Milani sisters, coming of age in an extraordinary time and posting it all—the good, the bad, the ridiculous—on social media.”
—Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl
"Fun and compulsive but with her signature dayglo insight on every page, Khakpour has recast the beach read in her own image.”
—Emma Forrest, author of Your Voice in My Head
"With a sharp eye for the chaos and complexities of family life and a breezy, Babitzian wit, Porochista Khakpour's Tehrangeles brings us the unforgettable story of the Milani sisters. At once moving family drama, sparkling intergenerational comedy, and perfectly-tuned portrait of our modern, social-media-obsessed condition, Tehrangeles is an endless delight.”
—Matthew Specktor, author of Always Crashing in the Same Car
“Fun, frothy, smart, biting, and hilarious—an utterly unique kind of pandemic story. Full of surprising twists, this tale of family dysfunction, sisterly angst, and self-discovery made me laugh, think, cringe, and laugh some more. Like the most skilled of reality stars, the Milanis grabbed my attention and I couldn’t tear myself away!”
—Deepa Varadarajan, author of Late Bloomers
“Ultra-observant…In compulsively readable sections examining fame, identity, and family dynamics, the Milani family’s chapter is as exuberant as it is entertaining.”
—Our Culture
“A wry, juicy satire that satisfied my urge for good sentences and great drama. Loosely, it’s Little Women meets Shahs of Sunset, with a cast of pitch-perfect characters who I found exasperating, heart-rending, and endlessly compelling…If you love talking to your smartest friends about the Bravoverse, this is the summer novel for you.”
—Lit Hub
“Khakpour’s wit has always been keen, and it’s hard to imagine a writer better positioned to take the concept of Shahs of Sunset and make it literary.”
—The Millions
“A kind of hyperreal neon inversion of Little Women, if the March girls had to deal with hashtags, eating disorders, microaggressions, and group chats…Iranian and American cultures collide in a shower of glitter and tears in this sendup of the SoCal elite.”
—Kirkus
“Wry…[Khakpour] provides a vibrant sense of place and an indelible family portrait. This has plenty of heart.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Khakpour’s prose is smart, sassy, and filled with pop culture references…Fans of shrewd and funny pop-culture satire and reality TV will consume this with delight.”
—Booklist
Library Journal
06/14/2024
Khakpour (Brown Album) takes readers on a trip to the wild world of the rich and Persian in this story of heiress sisters Violet, Roxanna, Mina, and Haylee Milani, who are navigating their forthcoming reality TV show debut and the pandemic that puts their climb to stardom on pause. The Milani sisters live in a huge Los Angeles mansion with their father, a snack food innovator, and their mother; both parents left Iran during the Revolution. The Milani clan are rich but largely miserable. Various members of the family deal with depression, drug use, and eating disorders, getting canceled online, conspiracy theories, and more. At times, the novel is downright tragic. But whether it's Khakpour's biting wit as she deftly comments on social media influencers or an amusing scene with a pet psychic and the family's Persian cat, the book is also funny and compelling. VERDICT While some may struggle with enjoying a novel set in the depths of the pandemic in 2020, readers who enjoy the satire of Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, and those who consider the Kardashians a guilty pleasure won't be able to put this book down.—Jenny Kobiela-Mondor
