Rooftops of Tehran: A Novel

Praise for Rooftops of Tehran: A Novel

"A stirring story about the loss of innocence, Rooftops of Tehran reveals a side of Iran understood by few Westerners. An ambitious first novel-full of humor, originality, and meaning."
- John Shors, author of Beneath a Marble Sky

"Rooftops of Tehran is a richly rendered first novel about courage, sacrifice, and the bonds of friendship and love. In clear, vivid details, Mahbod Seraji opens the door to the fascinating world of Iran and provides a revealing glimpse into the life and customs of a country on the verge of a revolution. A captivating read."
-Gail Tsukiyama, Author of The Street of a Thousand Blossoms and The Samurai's Garden

"In his haunting debut novel, Mahbod Seraji brings humor and humanity to a story of secret love in the brutal last days of the Shah. Set against the background of repression that launched the Iranian revolution, Pasha's and Zari's story shows that love and hope among the young thrive even in the most oppressive of times. Seraji is a striking new talent."
- Sandra Dallas, author of Tallgrass

"Rooftops of Tehran evoked many memories, along with tears and smiles, of starry nights on rooftops, long lost loves, and intense, passionate feelings of anger at the injustices... of the Pahlavi regime."
-Nahid Mozaffari, editor of Strange Times, My Dear: The PEN Anthology of Contemporary Iranian Literature

"Beyond being a bittersweet love story, Rooftops of Tehran is a story of Community. No reader will be unfamiliar to the situation of the alley--the neighborhood--where these characters are united and bound together by history, ritual, grief, respect, and by the bond of protection that arises under the brutality of an oppressive government. Rooftops of Tehran takes an uncommon and refreshing view of Iran and reveals how an American immigrant is born out of a young foreigner's desperation for self-determination and social freedom."
-Susanne Pari, author of The Fortune Catcher

"Rooftops of Tehran combines a coming of age love story with a compelling tale of struggle against dictatorship. You learn a lot about Iranian culture while coming to understand characters with universal appeal."

- Reese Erlich, author The Iran Agenda:The Real Story of US Policy and the Middle East Crisis

"What a profound pleasure to discover such solid storytelling and splendid prose in a debut novel. With the voice of a poet, Seraji has told a universal tale of love, loss, and ultimately of hope. It is this hope, most of all, that will linger long after the last page is turned. Thank God for authors like Seraji, who show us that no matter how distant apart our worlds may be, in the humanness of our hearts we are all united."
-William Kent Krueger, author of Red Knife and the award-winning Cork O'Connor series

"Repression and revolution provide the background for a deeply felt love story that gives outsiders a rare look inside modern Iran. This is a gripping account of a nation's violent lurch from one kind of tyranny to another, and also a delicately insightful portrait of how ordinary people react when their worlds suddenly collapse. At a time when we urgently need to know more about Iranians, Rooftops of Tehran introduces both the complexity of their political history and the richness of their emotional lives."
-Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

"Seraji's wonderful coming-of-age story is at times funny and sweet as well as thought-provoking and heart-wrenching. A powerful tale of the universal longings of teenagers compounded by the horrors of tyranny."
-Booklist

"...charmingly romantic...Seraji captures the thoughts and emotions of a young boy and creates a moving portrait of the history and customs of the Persians and life in Iran."
-Publisher's Weekly

"Refreshingly filled with love rather than sex, this coming-of-age novel examines the human cost of political repression."
-Kirkus