OF MOTHERS, DAUGHTERS & DEPARTURES

Sanam Mahloudji's debut novel puts five unforgettable women – and one extraordinary new voice – on the literary map. We spoke to her about the story behind the intergenerational masterpiece.

- Eleanor le Riche

It is not every day a debut novel lands on the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist, but then again, The Persians isn't your average debut, and Sanam Mahloudji is not your average author.

After her father's passing in 2010, Sanam began writing short stories. At the time, she was working as an attorney. 'I was shaking from a feeling of freedom,' Sanam recalls of her first fiction class, a one-day workshop at UCLA Extension in Los Angeles. 'The instructor gave us a writing prompt, and I realised I could write anything I wanted. Anything. It was like being a child again.' That moment proved pivotal for the former union-side labour lawyer. 'I had a sense something was missing... I knew after that class that writing fiction was what I needed to do with my life.'

Now, a few years later, Sanam's debut novel, The Persians, is being celebrated for its rich intergenerational narrative that spans 70 years and criss-crosses continents.

'Five women from an Iranian family that once mattered grapple with how to find themselves and each other,' Sanam says, describing the novel to new readers. Set in Tehran and the United States, the story explores love, loss, family, money, art and revolution.

So who are these women that Sanam brings so vividly to life?

‘There's Elizabeth, the matriarch, her daughters, Shirin and Seema, and their daughters, Niaz and Bita,’ Sanam says. ‘We follow them through their childhood insecurities, first loves, unfulfilling marriages, and the relationships they have with their daughters. Here they are, the women.’