The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran [Paperback]

SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2026

A captivating, polyphonic novel of one familys flight from and return to Iran.

1979. Behzad, a young communist revolutionary, fights with his friends for a new order after the Shahs expulsion. He tells of sparking hope, of clandestine political actions, and of how he finds the love of his life in the courageous, intelligent Nahid.

1989. Nahid lives her new life in West Germany with Behzad. With their young children, they spend hour after hour in front of the radio, hoping for news from others who went into hiding after the mullahs came to power.

1999. Laleh returns to Iran with her mother, Nahid. Between beauty rituals and family secrets, she gets to know a Tehran that hardly matches her childhood memories.

2009. Lalehs brother Mo is more concerned with a friends heartbreak than with student demonstrations in Germany. But then the Green Revolution breaks out in Iran and turns the world upside down &

A topical, moving novel about revolution, oppression, resistance, and the absolute desire for freedom.

The Nights Are Quiet in Tehranfits the family novel mold in many ways: it spans generations, explores inherited trauma, and depicts the effects of politics on a family & This highly political and touching novel gives a great insight into the political situation in Iran & In translating this vision of authorial omnipotence  of an imagined freedom  Ruth Martin brings Shida Bazyars politically urgent and thematically significant voice to English-speaking readers & creating an experience that feels both immediate and compelling.
Ankita Harbola,Reading in Translation

A fascinating look at the life of an immigrant family in Germany & Bazyar writes with a brilliant clarity & Special commendation goes to Ruth Martin for her translation.
Driftless Area Review