"This memoir by Nahid Rachlin parts the curtain on one Iranian household - delving into the complex and fascinating dynamics of growing up female in a paternalistic society. For many years, heartache prevented Rachlin from turning her sharp novelist's eye inward: to tell the story of how her own life diverged from that of her closest confidante and beloved sister, Pari. As adolescents, both refused to accept traditional Muslim mores, and dreamed of careers in literature and on the stage; they devoured forbidden books and entertained secret romances. Their lives changed abruptly when Pari was coerced to marry a wealthy, cruel suitor who kept her a virtual prisoner in her own home. Nahid narrowly avoided becoming the bride of a man of her parents' choosing, and instead negotiated with her father to pursue her studies in America." "As Nahid began to achieve literary success in the United States and to loosen family binds, Pari's dreams dwindled: her husband quashed her every hope and ambition. When Nahid received the unsettling and mysterious news that Pari had died after falling down a flight of stairs, she traveled back to Iran - now under the Islamic regime - to find out what had happened to her truest friend, confront her past, and evaluate what the future holds for the heartbroken. Persian Girls traces not only Nahid's life but also the interconnected lives of her aunt, her mother, and her sisters, in a tale of crushing sorrow, sisterhood, and ultimately, hope."--BOOK JACKET.

Nahid Rachlin is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Foreigner, Married to a Stranger, and The Heart's Desire, as well as a collection of short stories, Veils. Currently a fellow at Yale, Rachlin teaches at the New School and the Unterberg Poetry Center in New York.