American Boys

by Khashayar J. Khabushani

A searing, heartbreaking debut about the powerful bonds that make and break an Iranian-American family

Three young brothers leave Los Angeles in the dead of night for Iran, taken by their father from their mother to a country and an ancestral home they barely recognize. They return to the Valley months later, spit back into American life and changed in awful and inexorable ways. Under the annihilating light of the California sun, our protagonist, the youngest brother, tries to piece together a childhood shattered by his father's abuse, a queer adolescence marked by a shy, secret love affair with a boy he meets on the basketball court, and his suddenly-hostile status as a Muslim living under the shadow of 9/11.

'I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN is exquisite, heart-breaking, incredibly beautiful. The whole narrative thrums with a bright, warm longing. You can feel the sunshine of LA and Iran, the rhythm of Khashayar J Khabushani's voice. This is a novel to return to again and again.' Caleb Azumah Nelson, award-winning, bestselling author of OPEN WATER

Genres: Fiction, Queer, LGBT, Iran, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Gay

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2023

About the author

Khashayar J. Khabushani was born in Van Nuys, California, in 1992. During his childhood he spent time in Iran before returning to Los Angeles. He studied philosophy at California State University, Northridge, and prior to completing his MFA at Columbia University, he worked as a middle school teacher. I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN is his first novel.

Reviews

[Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I loved about this book: the emotion and atmosphere he captured in the intimate scenes between characters (K. and his brothers, K. and his mother, K. and Johnny). He renders sensations on the page well, making you feel present with K in his experiences. It's emotional, poignant, and when it hits the right reader, I think this would be a very affecting read.

What I didn't love about this book: the structure or lack thereof. The story is pretty straightforward; a chronological telling of one Iranian boys life in California in the early 1990s through 2002 or so. However, the sections and chapters have no real rhyme or reason to them. They are vignettes highlighting particular moments of his life, but without a real footing in any sort of plot or forward momentum. It felt listless, and while the *vibes* were definitely there in particular singular moments, the whole didn't come together for me to be something fully realized.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous book from a clearly talented writter.

We follow this gentlemans Iranian-American family through the eyes of the Author himself.He expertly tells the readers of his time growing up with his parents and two brothers. His writting technique flows so well. This sways between heart breaking and humorous.
I adored each individual character within this. Every one had an important and memorable part within this story.
Not one point of this story was out of place or needed anything more or less than what we are given.

An exquisite read.

Mant thanks to the Author and Publisher through Netgalley for an ARC. It was a pleasure to leave me honest review.
Rev written 24/7/23

[hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel 🙂
a really nice story told by a young Iranian-American boy-to-young-man main character. his family, his mother and brothers, his father...

❤💔🧡💛 complex, tender, vulnerable and open, sad and difficult, optimistic

💙💚🤝🏀 masculinity, friendship, sexuality, identity, relationships, love, abuse, depression, racism, basketball...

❤💙🤎🖤 a complex weave of a kinda 'typical' 'American' childhood, and the very specific experiences of a young gay Iranian-American boy - his mother and family life, his father unexpectedly taking him and his brothers to Iran away from his mother for some months, the impact on them and other people of colour of the attack on the twin towers and the invasion of Iraq...

🤜🤛💜💙💚 brotherly love and how that manifests. the impacts of their lives and experiences manifesting differently for each of the brothers - bringing in different threads and/or exploring different possibilities.


🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟


accessed as a library audiobook, read by Shan Rohani

[Sean Farrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very well written, has a fascinating setting which I have never read about before, and some profoundly illuminating moments, yet ultimately fails to deliver on storytelling. More a rapid fire sequence of events that, in terms of plot, don't really achieve more that the blurb on the back of the book itself. There's little tension, the character development is almost too subtle to be noticed and just because a book ends doesn't always mean it has an ending, and this is one of those. Ultimately, just a bit dull.

[charlotte, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galley provided by publisher

Rep: Iranian & Iranian American cast, gay mc, Puerto Rican American side character

CWs: child sexual abuse, incest, domestic abuse, Islamophobia, racist slurs

Galley provided by publisher

I Will Greet to the Sun Again is a poignant coming of age tale, a story of three brothers as they grow up and grow apart. It’s a hard book to review, not least because it’s a 5-star read. Why is it books you love are often the hardest to find words for? But let’s try.

The story takes place in three parts: the first, in Los Angeles, with a family of five. At the end of this part, the father smuggles away his three sons in the dead of night, taking them to Iran, to get them away from their mother’s influence. Then, they’re brought back, a confluence of their aunt and grandfather’s plans. The trip changes each of them differently, and the third part is its reckoning.

This is a character-driven book and one that takes the time to develop them, to make them fully realised, because it’s needed. If you don’t care about the characters in a book like this, that’s half the battle already lost. This is a book about these characters’ internal journeys as much as it is, at times, about the journey from the USA to Iran and back again. Not only are the main characters fleshed out, but so are the side characters, many of whom play important roles in the story’s progression. It’s testament to Khabushani’s skill as a writer that they leap off the page as much as our main cast.

Not only are the characters fully developed, but so are the places they inhabit. Every place is described with such care that you might almost imagine yourself there while these events are going on. It’s the kind of writing that makes you never want to leave a book, to perhaps inhabit it yourself, or to sink back into it time and again.

It’s kind of hard to believe that I Will Greet the Sun Again is only a debut novel, it’s that accomplished. It’s definitely a novel that will have me coming back to the author over and over, too.

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving exploration of family, diaspora, sexuality and the various meaning of 'home', I Will Greet the Sun again is a heartbreaking, sincere, tender and illuminating coming-of-age story, that will move its readers from beginning until end.

TW: racism, rape, child abuse, domestic violence, incest, Islamphobia

[Izzy Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

khabushani’s writing is truly beautiful but ultimately this book felt a little boring to me. some scenes stood out so vividly and the underlying themes really did make an impact but for a 200 page book, i unfortunately found it dragged at times. still a heartfelt and poignant novel that i think will resonate with a lot of readers.

thank you to penguin uk for sending me a copy!

[Stoic Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨️ An emotional, quietly devastating , and unique tale of self-discovery and becoming oneself, I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN delves into the sense of displacement and the inherent struggle against violence within the immigrant journey.

The protagonist, teetering between adolescence and adulthood, grapples with the duality of his Californian upbringing and his Iranian roots, as well as his attraction to other young men juxtaposed with his aversion to his father's desires.

We gain an intimate insight into the experience of being an Americanized Muslim post-9/11, as well as the complex emotions of having a struggling father in a patriarchal context and a accomplished mother within a deeply traditional society.

I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN radiates with insights, beauty, and ache. Khabushani has achieved a rare feat—crafting a book that reflects both the challenges and joys of youth, alongside the yearning and determination to surpass societal expectations and personal circumstances. 👊✨️

[enzoreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

C’est trop dommage parce qu’il y avait beaucoup de potentiel mais le rythme faisait que je m’ennuyais souvent et j’ai eu l’impression d’attendre des choses qui n’arrivaient jamais rendant l’expérience assez frustrante. Les sujets abordés sont importants et les personnages vraiment intéressants mais je pense qu’il aurait pu aller plus en profondeur et couper quelques chapitres qui étaient selon moi pas pertinents

[Laurie Keech · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was promised to be searing, sunlit, exquisite etc on the beautiful pastel cover, but the only word that really comes to my mind is embryonic. I was heartily let down by what was not shy in promising itself to be an evocative coming of age novel wrestling a dual identity of race and sexuality, and what instead felt like a rushed first draft drained of any connection or passion.

There were many promising elements and themes which were simply never developed, almost always just thrown in and ignored for the rest of the book. I enjoyed the emphasis on the sensory, for example his mother brewing Persian tea and how the smell filled the flat, or his grandfather peeling cucumbers in the garden. Sadly, these moments owe their appeal more to the inherent beauty of the images themselves than to any particular skill on the author's part in conveying them. The prose in general felt simplistic in a way which was not effective. I've read other books with a very pared-back writing style which has the potential to embue a real touch of grace and humanity to the work, but this was not the case here. This is depsite the author's assertion, expressed through the protagonist, that he is going to write "his" way rather than perscribe to a anglo-centric monolithic standard of what is 'good' writing. This is brilliant and important, but I didn't really see it actually happen. I feel language was poorly utilised; Khabushani tended to depict sensory and emotional experiences rather literally (he completely failed to 'show not tell', the whole novel being entirely composed of telling), there was little lingusitic diversity or ornamentation, but nor was there an earnest utilisation of contemporary slang (or, beyond literally, of Farsi), his senteces often followed a very similar structure, and there was almost no pacing throughout- the events simply happened one after the other and I felt no sense of climax, nor of temporary slowing down.
I was unconvinced by Khabushani's narrative voice of a 9 year old, in my opinion he failed to inhabit the mentality of a child, and would often express reflections that were not realistic of an infant of that age (yet nor were these reflections presented as retrospective). In fact, as the protagonist grew up between the ages of 9 and 18 there was no shift or development in the narrative voice, it remained exactly the same. The ageing process itself was unclear and I often had no idea if I was reading about a 12 or a 17 year old. In 200 pages the book touched on sexuality, desire, race, religion, terrorism, war, place, misogyny, kidnapping, and for a shocking two pages, incest and child sexual abuse. Not one of these themes was developed or explored in any way. The child rape scene came out of nowhere, there was no precedent, no build up, and indeed no aftermath. It was a swift scene that was then not mentioned until the end of the book, and even then, not unpacked at all, or slotted into the protagonist's wider identity or mental state. The other major characters such as his family or his best friend/lover had extremely 2-D plot lines (I hesitate to say arcs) which for the most part were not resolved, or resolved hastily and unclearly. None of the three named female characters of the book was given any kind of resolution or ending. But then again, the protagonist's emotional resolution simply took the form of him moving (somewhat ironically, given the book's title) from California to New York.

In short, I feel this novel was extremely premature. It's short page count was not to its advantage, and it felt underdeveloped in every single way. I wish the author had waited 20 more years and written 200 more pages, and this then could have been a really poignant and fresh work of art. Instead it felt disconnected from its own emotional offerings, prosaic in style, and fiercely disappointing as a novel which had so much potential to be wonderful.

[Floflyy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malheureusement pour ce livre, il a souffert lors de ma lecture de la comparaison avec l'excellent Vie Animale de Justin Torres. Dans les deux livres on suit une fratrie de 3 frères issue d'une minorité dans les Etats-Unis de la fin du XXème siècle.

Pour ce qui est d'American Boys, c'était intéressant de voir que cela se passait dans une famille iranaise et musulmane, coincée entre la volonté d'intégration américaine de la mère et le conservatisme musulman du père.

Le rythme est très linéaire, il n'y a pas d'éclat. On suit le fil du temps, on voit les enfants grandir, voyager entre l'EUA et l'Iran, entre le père et la mère. ça m'a manqué d'un peu de passion, de creux et de plein.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely book to read. It was about a boy growing into manhood, dealing with academia, money, sexuality, family and knowing where you fit in the world.

We start in LA where K was born to Iranian parents but learn early on that his father has given up looking for work despite being a highly educated engineer and his mother is now the main breadwinner who wants to be much more than a stay at home mother.

However after a startling discovery K and his brothers are taken from LA to Iran by their father but while there K's life becomes unbearable until they are rescued by his aunt and returned to LA where we follow his life as he grows into adulthood.

Khayashar Khabushani has a beautiful style of writing and this book is different in that even when you think you know what will happen you are surprised by outcomes. K struggles to learn where he will shine when his brothers seem so focused but this only makes his character more endearing.

Beautifully written debut. I'd definitely recommend it and look forward to more by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Louis Muñoz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars, "It was okay." There were a few passages that were interesting to me, but if I'm honest, this book never really engaged me much. Not much happened, in my view. There were a few "key" moments, but even one that was a "shocker" of sorts didn't add much to the story. And when we get to 9-11, we read a little about how the MC and his family experiences some of the hatred and mistrust towards Muslims, or just others, but even that barely goes anywhere. I feel badly dumping on a debut novel, but for me, this was a very disappointing read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is poignant story of a young Iranian American who experiences a childhood of abuse from his father, struggling for a place in his home, his school and neighborhood, and in this country.

The tone is intimate and unflinching. The straightforward language magnifies the simplicity of a child's perspective and a level of urgency. At times, I felt as if the words were a confession. He divulges raw desire and fear. His innocence makes him vulnerable but it's sweet and affecting. His confusion is honest and unrestrained. And his moments of joy soar.

I very much appreciated how the author portrayed Iranian American and Iranian experiences here. The scenes in Iran have a certain beauty to them...the interactions with the locals sparkle.

K's desire for men has a purity to it and I wish he could have found love as his brother, Justin, did...even for a bit.

If you need CW/TW is domestic violence and sexual abuse, then please consider this.

I was pleased at how Forugh Farrokhzad is referred to in this book. And her poem and place here demonstrate how far Iran has changed.

I will keep an eye on Khabushani and his future writing. I want to see his upcoming titles and how his storycrafting progresses.

[Amerie]

The Amerie's Book Club selection for the month of August is I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN by Khashayar J. Khabushani!

Follow @AmeriesBookClub on IG, and join me and Khashayar J. Khabushani on my IGLIVE (@Amerie) Aug. 31, 1pm EST/10am PST. Bring your questions!

In Khashayar J. Khabushani’s gut-punch of a novel, we follow K’s coming-of-age in Los Angeles, during which he explores what it means to become a young man while also figuring where he belongs within his own family. But his is not a simple life. We reel as he and his brothers are whisked to an unknown land, and we wince as we see him receive both love and abuse from someone who should be most trusted. We bear witness to K’s realization that to so many around him he is, at best, a hyphenate: an Iranian-American, when all he wants is to be a boy from L.A.; at worst, he’s viewed an untrustworthy outsider. Further destabilizing is K’s attempts to grapple with friendship, a burgeoning romance, and his sexuality. There is so much here, but we’re witnessing a coming-of-age, after all, so of course there is, and Khabushani spins all the joys and pains of adolescence with several strokes of middle-aged regret into an unforgettable novel.


@AmeriesBookClub #ReadWithAmerie #AmeriesBookCluB #IWillGreetTheSunAgain #KhashayarJKhabushani @hogarthbooks
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ABOUT KHASHAYAR J. KHABUSHANI
Khashayar J. Khabushani was born in Van Nuys, California, in 1992. During his childhood he spent time in Iran before returning to Los Angeles. He studied philosophy at California State University, Northridge, and prior to completing his MFA at Columbia University he worked as a middle school teacher. This is his first novel.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books of the year. The story of an Iranian American family in the late 1990s and early 2000s, narrated by the youngest of three brothers and set in LA and briefly in Iran. The themes of family, personal freedom, sexuality and cultural heritage are woven seamlessly into the story and the characters and their experiences are highly relatable. The style of writing is what stands out most though: simple and yet quite profound. Khabushani Khashaya is definitely an author to watch in the future.

[Umama · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.

[Marko Mravunac · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a good premise, but I did not like the writing style, the pacing was off, plot points were brushed over, I kept waiting for something that ultimately never came.

[Vera Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved. Tender and moving coming of age. A breeze to read. Great debut.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Will Greet the Sun Again is a beautifully written novel following K, a sensitive young boy from an Iranian family living in LA around the turn of the millennium.

The story moves between LA and Iran, and Khabushani evokes a vivid sense of place in both of these settings. At the same time, the writing feels murky, like snippets of childhood memories. I very much got the feeling when I was reading this of seeing the world through a child's eyes; not an easy thing for an author to accomplish.

Despite my upbringing being very different from K's, I felt that it captured feelings of youth very well; awkward moments of being trapped in your own fear; boredom; roaming around simply for something to do; the different things you notice when you're a child. The different ways adults treat you, and perhaps not realising why they treat you these ways until later in life. I really enjoyed the parts of the book set in Iran where K meets relatives like Amoo and Khaleh who understand him and show him kindness. Those were really touching.

The moments of K experiencing queer desire and yearning were so tender and relatable. Although I felt nervous of where they might lead, knowing how pervasive homophobia was at this time, they felt like a balm, balancing the heavier emotions throughout.
There are some upsetting scenes in this book, particularly of child sexual and physical abuse, and racism, especially in the wake of 9/11. They are sensitively handled in my opinion, but read with care if these issues affect you.

I did struggle slightly with the punctuation in this book (no speech marks) but I know not everyone feels the same way about this choice.

Overall, this is a moving book about family, diaspora, and growing up that I will keep thinking about. Khashayar J. Khabushani is a promising new writer of literary fiction.

Thank you to Viking for sending me this advance proof copy.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

a premise that i should have absolutely loved, as it touches upon many different themes i’m immediately drawn to, but ultimately fell a little flat to me. it almost felt like an unfinished story. i don’t usually mind when a story has minimal plot with a lot of introspection, but in this case the introspection was a bit lacking to me. i think the character development was meant to be very subtle but in the end it was almost unnoticeable. quite disturbing scenes were thrown in to then not be addressed again, which was a strange decision.

there was one section of the novel that i greatly enjoyed and that i would have liked to go on much longer as it was the only moment where i felt like the themes were being discussed in a real way, and the characters felt like they were growing and developing (for those who have read the book: the section where the boys stay with their aunt).

ultimately a bit disappointing. the writing was not special enough to save the story for me. it wasn’t bad by any means, there were many elements i enjoyed individually, but all put together i don’t think the author succeeded in creating a novel that felt complete and did what it set out to do.

[George Fenwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

i hate the phrase “life-affirming” but i have to say. i felt my life fairly affirmed by this

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great first book showing lots of love and talent. The narration is soft and intimate, with a plot that feels intentionally fleeting in a way that stays mostly on the side of poetic despite also dipping a bit into being slightly unsatisfying. I wish Iran was given more space or made more of a character, and the same is true of the queer moments and the build up to the ending; in general I think it's just a bit too short for everything to pay off.

Massive shout out to Luke Bird for designing the hardback Viking Press cover, which I think is beautiful and is the main reason I got the book.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful #ownvoices debut that follows three Iranian American brothers as they come of age. Equally heartbreaking and incredibly moving, this family drama celebrates the ups and downs across decades as the brothers grapple with their sexuality, first loves and past trauma. Good on audio and perfect for fans of books like Between two moons by Aisha Abdel Gawad or Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart.

[Mitzi Woolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a beautiful read, so raw and real. K is such a loveable character and you truly just want the best for him the whole time. Also such a great book as a debut novel! 4.5 stars <3

[Angela Zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romanzo di formazione moderno toccante e di una sensibilità particolare. Difficile non empatizzare con il giovane K

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was beautiful but the pacing was strange

[‬⟡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars. goshh I loved this book. I really felt like I was going through his life with him. everyone and everything just felt so lovingly and heartbreakingly real.

what do we do, where do we go after horrible things happen? do we close off, or do we stay open enough to let the light in? I really feel like this book explores those questions so beautifully.

some of my favourite parts, which was hard to narrow down to just a few:

That’s the way we are. No matter how much they take from us, Khaleh says, closing her eyes and breathing in the air that no longer seems so bad—we find a way to enjoy…. We still have this life to enjoy, she says, wouldn’t you agree?

Let’s stay in Shomal forever… I say to my brothers as I stand, scooping handfuls of water and dumping them over my head, feeling, each time I shut my eyes, that the water is washing away everything.

It was as if God had set it up just for us, the moon and its shimmering white light, the rain we so rarely get in the Valley, and [his] warm arm against mine.

…it’s as if Maman’s talking about someone else’s life, remembering a time that to her doesn’t feel real.

I want Maman to know she doesn’t have to be quiet anymore, that it’d be better. That way I’d get to know who she actually is.

I can feel his younger self circling around us and chiming in, asking me to listen closely. Telling me that being young isn’t something I have to give away, that the shine pouring out from his eyes…I have that, too, it’s something I can keep, if I’m careful, no matter how old I get—.

[daria majlessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved everything about this.

felt like reading snapshots of life-altering moments & core memories.

“thats the way we are. no matter how much they take from us, khaleh says, closing her eyes and breathing in the air that no longer seems so bad—we find a way to enjoy…. we still have this life to enjoy, she says, wouldn’t you agree?”

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹