Persian Nights

by Diane Johnson

“Funny, incisive, frightening and eminently skillful."— New York Times

The year is 1978, the tumultuous period leading up to the Iranian Revolution. While visiting Iran with her husband, Chloe Fowler is left to travel alone after he is summoned home. Much to her surprise, she finds herself drawn to the country, intoxicated by each unfamiliar sight that reminds her how far from home she really is, both comforted and unsettled by the group of foreign and Iranian physicians and their wives who take her in. However, her exhilaration crashes when odd, often frightening events begin to occur, exposing the darker side of this "colonial life." Chloe is about to be liberated from everything she has ever known—in a place where her ordinary notions of reason and reality will run headlong into a wall of intrigue, and where every idea she has about herself will be put to the test.

Persian Nights follows Chloe on a voyage through the seductively inexplicable, and has all the qualities one expects from the gifted author of Le Divorce —the quirky, vivid atmosphere; the intelligent, humane voice; the compelling narrative. Once again, Diane Johnson delivers an entertaining novel of an appealing woman caught up in a mysterious world of change and intrigue.

Genres: Fiction, Iran, Novels, Historical Fiction, Chick Lit, Middle East, Contemporary

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Diane Johnson is an American novelist and essayist whose satirical novels often feature American heroines living in contemporary France. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Persian Nights in 1988.
In addition to her literary works, she is also known for writing the screenplay of the 1980 film The Shining together with its director and producer Stanley Kubrick.

Reviews

[Helaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chloe Fowler is a thirty-something wife and mother with one foot in the 1950's and the other in the pre-HIV, sexually free 1970's (book takes place about 1979) who finds herself unexpectedly in an Iran on the verge of revolution sans husband. I expected some superb writing since this book was nominated for a Pulitzer. But I could not identify with Chloe (especially her lament at the end "to be good") or any other character in the book. I also found awkward the frequent change of perspective--especially when the change was accomplished in very short paragraphs. The first few chapters seemed to drag on. I would like someone to tell me why this book was Pulitzer material--what am I missing?

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yuck. Just yuck. I don't think I have ever read a book with a more insipid main character. Chloe is pathetic. She is entitled, selfish, stupid and a bigot. And most of the other characters were not much better. Honestly, I don't think the author was capable of writing a character any other way. Blargh.

And the writing - I don't even know where to begin. It was so scattered, I could hardly follow the story. Not that there was much of a story to follow. Just the random ramblings of a spoiled housewife on vacation in Iran. And the constant referring to every character by their first and last names every single time they were mentioned was cumbersome and irritating. The writing, aside from being scattered, was also choppy. And no one speaks the way the characters in this book spoke. "'Chloe, where have you been?' they all cried." I have never been anywhere that 7 (or more) different people yelled the identical sentence to me in unison. Honestly, I'm no author, so I don't imagine anything I write would sell, but I think even I could write better dialogue.

Horrible book. Complete waste of time. Don't bother.

*Edited to add - this piece of trash was nominated for a Pulitzer? Was the committee drunk that year?!?

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Johnson has a great gift. To be able to write about manners and mores with such a sharp eye, keep it funny yet maintain gravitas, contemporary and timeless, can be masterful.

I first fell in love with Ms. Johnson's writing a decade ago with Le Divorce, when I fell in love with Isabelle and Roxy-- to live in Paris! Or Santa Barbara! To have money, style, breeding...well, maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Persian Nights follows in a similar vein, with Chloe our would-be heroine, arriving in Shiraz, Iran sans doctor husband, in the late 1970s, just prior to the revolution. She immediately falls in with the local expat community and the Iranians with whom they are friendly (aka, doctors and their wives), providing more than enough characters for a proper game of Clue.

Ms. Johnson allows a diverse inner monologue with Chloe and her peers, so we know that she's well educated (if naive), curious (just to the precipice of danger), and blatantly selfish. A group trip to a cave early on reminded me of A Passage To India, which Chloe was also reminded of. Forster is a good guide for Ms. Johnson, and overall she honors him well.

My only complaint was that SO MUCH melodrama happened in a few short weeks. Perhaps that's possible in a certain place at a certain time, but it made it kind of like a soap opera. Still, to peer in on the lives of Westerners abroad and see ourselves (it's true) is a gift.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another in a steady line up of novels that were recommended in appendix form at the end Francine Prose's book on reading and writing, and represents yet another author about whom I had previously heard nothing, but enjoyed. A nominee for Pulitzer Prize for fiction this work follows the travels of an american housewife (of a doctor) to pre-revolutionary Iran, who initially set off with her husband but wouln up alone. The barely alive embers of a cold marriage go out for the protagonist and her husband, both of whom are unfaithful to each other during the course of this story. This major plot line is set against a backdrop of Iran at the brink of its revolution with a tension that touches all the characters except the ex-patriates in Chloe's group.
In this thoughtful introspective work there are no fast paced thematic lines that propel you to read rapidly, but generous character development draws the reader in. There are many different topics that Johnson comments on in this novel, to include broad cultural differences between America and Iran, womens rights, divorce, and extramaritial affairs, to name a few.
Overall a fun read with nice style.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book screams "CHICK LIT", until you realize it was nominated for a Pulitzer in literature. Ms. Johnson is a master at plopping American characters in foreign countries, and showing the similarities and differences between two cultures. The ultimate lesson, I believe, is that nothing is what it seems on the news or on the surface, and you have to get to know people before you can make sweeping judgements. "You can't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes."

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know this book is more than a decade old but it is still relevant and really brilliant. Diane Johnson gets inside the mind of her heroine, Chloe Fowler, and creates a portrait of a woman that is lovely and poignant.

[Dhartridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her books are Jane- Austen- like in the author's focus on the relationships of the characters and their foibles. I read this years ago and just reread it, wanting something light. I think it's my favorite of her novels, set in Iran, before the fall of the Shah. The main character, Chloe, is a type that is much less common these days, a woman who depends on her relationships with men (her husband and then her lover) for her sense of self. She begins to get a clue about other alternatives during an eventful stay in Iran.

[SP · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of the book is good, though the pace is slow, it does give some nice exotic flavor and mystic and suspenseful atmosphere. The second half is very poor, really poor. Too many coincidences and too many incomprehensible actions of the protagonists.

A crucial criterion of a good fiction is that the plots and the actions of the characters should be reasonable. However many plots in this book are totally contrived, making the story ridiculous. Just give some examples, (spoiler below)

(1) you hid in a room during a gunfight and by peering through the door and you just saw a gunman just fall in front of you. And minutes later you drag him in because "there are flies on his face"??

(2) you are a doctor from Paris to be summoned to Iran to perform a top secret mission, namely to cure the Shah. And you forgot the dossier on the plane??

(3) you give your passport to a local friend, tell her to use a fake identity (as you) to pass the immigration to escape, and believe that the passport will be mailed back?

(4) you never, ever feel panic during the revolution, and are always blindly optimistic that there will be no trouble to pass the immigration even you DO NOT have a passport??

(5) the missing passport page turn out to appear in the last minute, in the airport??

(6) The kidnapper, who brought the hostage down the cave and would like to murder him, happened to slip in the steep down stairs of the cave (isn't it reasonable that the hostage should be "in front of" the kidnapper so that even a slip will destroy both?)

(7) and, why if you are to murder your hostage in a hot tourist attraction cave?

(8) etc, etc, there are too many to list.

Almost all characters are weak enough (except Abbas), especially the two main characters, Chloe and Hugh. Both are stereotype and not convincing and Chloe is extraordinary disgusting. She seems to live in a parallel time and space and is always detached (or is it the intention of the author to make Chloe so unrealistic)?

My feeling is that the author cannot decide what the book want to be. It wants simultaneously to be a love story, a history fiction, a mystery story, a spy fiction, even a Bildungsroman --- and the result is baffling. The worst is that all are deliberately put in the background at the dawn of the Iranian revolution, but strangely almost nothing is said about that. The only relevant scene is the gathering of the people in the square, which however reads very trite indeed. Our main character, Chloe, even in this dire and tense moment did not get into the swing of thing.

3.5 stars for the first 150 pages. 0.5 star for the rest. It is a very big disappointment that it was a Pulitzer nominee.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book. I had read Diane Johnson´s Le Divorce and enjoyed that book so I decided to read this book.

Jeffrey and Chloe Fowler leave the US for Iran so that he could work in a hospital for a month there to help the doctors. He´s a doctor in the US. En route, he receives a message that his colleague has had a terrible accident back home so he returns to the US but insists that his wife continue her journey to Iran so she can continue her research on Sassanian pottery. He´ll join her within a few weeks but never does. Apparently, their marriage is "on the rocks".

In the hospital compound in Shiraz, Iran, there are other foreigners visiting. Dr Junie Fay, Dr Dick Rothblatt, Dr Hugh Monroe who mysteriously shows up a couple weeks late, a couple of other medical couples, Linda Farmani who is the American-born wife of Dr Farmani the chief of the hospital, an archaelogist, and personnel from corporations like Grumman.

The first mystery is the dead foreigner they found while on a day trip to a sacred cave. Curiously, no one wants to know about the body. Not the hospital chief, not the police, not the morgue, not the American consulate. Who is he and what do they do with the body?

The second mystery is the whereabouts of Dr Hugh Monroe. He didn´t show up at the hospital on the day he was supposed to. "Someone" said he had troubles in Tehran but no one is willing to help him. Chloe does go to Isfahan where she meets him and starts her affair with him. He tells her he was not in Tehran but in London. However, she found his laundry from the Tehran Hilton.

This all takes place in the waning days of the Shah just prior to the Iranian Revolution. The SAVAK, the internal spy agency, supposedly have spies everywhere. One day Dr Farmani is picked up by the authorities in the early morning hours. Why? Who was the spy for SAVAK? Everyone is blaming Chloe for the arrest.

The group takes a trip to see Persepolis ruins, however, they meet with gunfire. There is a trade of guns for ancient artifacts. One in their group is killed. Is this an omen of trouble brewing?

During this entire time, Chloe and Hugh are having an affair. She also receives a letter from Jeffrey that he wants a divorce because he has found someone else. Dr Junie Fay and Dr Rick Rothblatt are having an affair too but she is in love with Abbas, one of the Iranian doctors.

I quite enjoyed the author´s writing. She gives a lot of insight into what Chloe is thinking about, especially the changes that are in her life.

Fun book.

[Dholsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the cover, I thought this would be a fun summer read. Well, no. Instead, the novel presents the chaos leading up to the overthrow of the Iranian government and its impact on both the countrymen and the foreigners that become part of the fabric via medical assistance, airline workers, CIA operatives, etc. There are so many details in this novel that the reader gets the impression that Diane Johnson has had personal experience with in terms of the intricate intrigue of hospital staffing, housing and policies; the Iranian market places, customs, poetry...and sure enough, with a little Web searching, actual notes taken by the author during this turbulent period of Iranian history are used.
I found myself thinking quite a bit about the "ugly American" pov that is addressed through the various actions that are highlighted through the characters' dialogues and the conflicts that emerge in the novel. There are moments that remind me of Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, when Iranians and African Americans are being discussed. The protagonist, Chloe Fowler, makes some unbelievably foolhardy decisions and on many occasions misreads the people she considers her friends. She puts more energy into her affair than in writing detailed letters to her young children that are taken care of in America. (I found most of her posts annoying.)
Overall, I thought the skill of Johnson in crafting this novel exceptional. T did have difficulty following some of the action because there were so many characters involved. However, in the hands of Johnson, both the country and the characters are flushed out. The prose has a visual quality (surprised this has not been turned into a movie). Perhaps in later editions the cover will be updated to reflect the serious elements presented.
I found it ironic that oil was mentioned as being a "future" weapon.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got off to a slow start, but the crescendo and denoument are certainly worth the wait. This is one of Johnson's most serious novels, delving into the condition of American doctors abroad and the Persian people at the dawn of the revolution in Iran. Although the action is witnessed mostly from behind the confines of a compound of intellectual elites by Chloe Fowler, Protagonist of Questionable Morals, Johnson manages to engender sympathy for and interest in her and the others' stories, create genuinely surprising plot points and execute satisfying character development. The only other flaw of this book is that it presents too much detail about the inner workings of the medical school hospital, which I'm guessing was the lens through which the author intended to reveal the Iranian situation, however, this was much better shown through the female characters' foibles rather that through the male doctors' work life.

[Camille Cusumano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into the story, not sure why, after all this is Iran, old Persia, and the culture is interesting. Maybe it's because the characters don't seem to care for the culture shock bona fide travelers must encounter in Iran. Maybe because the characters whom I associate with bourgeois academia elude me—these folks are here for work, not the open-minded curious travelers some of us are. Everyone (the expats from the West) is having a hushed affair or guarding some secret but it's hard to see why I should care—until the very end when, just as in a Sam Peckinpah film, the bullets fly, the violence hits the fan. I liked this novel much better than the author's bestselling Le Divorce, which I could not finish.

[Tex · Rating 2 out of 5]

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this cover was deceptive and messed me up throughout the reading of the book.
The story is about a group of American doctors and their spouses who, during the time of the Shah of Iran, go to a smallish city to help medically. During the course of the book, the Shah's leadership position becomes questionable and the Americans have to decide how to deeal with it.
It is NOT a summer fluff book. It is messy and sometimes hard to followb, but has some insightful descriptions of tangles of emotions.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't my usual type of read, but I enjoyed it. None of the characters are very likeable, in the traditional sense, and the writing style is a little cool and distant.

But I'm always interested in stories of expats and "ugly Americans." Diane Johnson is also a very funny, observant writer. I loved "Le Divorce" (book and movie) so I knew I wanted to read this. I didn't tear through it, but I finished it, which feels like a huge accomplishment, considering how my reading has gone lately.

[Saïdeh Pakravan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diane Johnson has achieved a remarkable feat of describing a world far removed from that of the main protagonist in an tone neither patronizing nor spectacular. ChLoe Fowler finds herself alone in pre-revolutionary Iran, at a point o which the hinges of history are irretrievably creaking. Through the author's taut, crisp story-telling and sensuous, evocative imagery, we are taken on an unforgettable journey.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this years ago when it first came out, but didn't really remember much other than the general idea--a group of American doctors working at a medical facility in Shiraz, Iran, in the months before the 1979 revolution. I liked the description of Shiraz, Persepolis, and the hospital compound where the story takes place. The plot, however, is melodramatic and implausible. Still, I enjoyed the book.

[Julia Cottrell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really couldn't stand this book! I thought it was a misogynistic work by what only seems like a super ditzy author. It might be that it was written in 1986, but it just feels like the lead heroine is completely hard to respect and out of an out-dated era. She sort of floats around wondering which man to depend on next. Ick. OK, my rant is done!

[Sara W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel kind of apathetic toward this book; it's interesting to read about pre-revolution Iran, but the characters are difficult to like -- and the only one I was able to warm to gets killed somewhat arbitrarily about 3/4s of the way in, to no real purpose. The writing is interesting, and I guess it says something that I actually finished it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone.

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure why I finished this book. I think I was hoping it would somehow get interesting, but it failed miserably. I had very little connection with the main character and did not find the extramarital affairs or justification of them very appealing. It was a weird book with little plot which dragged on forever!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

So not a big fan; I never felt connected to the characters and I also felt the author did not delve deeply into the background of the fall of Iran's shah and the implications it had for the ex-pats living in Shiraz. It was as if the main plot could have taken place anywhere - London, Miami, Hong Kong, etc. It felt very superficial and forced.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is set just before the fall of the Shahin Iran, although no specific dats are mentioned, so I spent most of the novel being not quite sure about the time frame. An interesting cast of characters come together is a housing compound for foreign doctors and run into various misunderstandings. A mysterty runs its way through the book and is not resolved until the very end.

[Julianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up at Wonderbooks a while ago and I just got around to reading it. It wasn't amazing and it wasn't terrible. The first half is a bit slow, but it definitely picks up near the middle. It definitely didn't go where I was expecting it to. I do have some unanswered questions, but overall it was good.

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ughh... mediocre smut. Never really picks up. Story of a pampered, idiot, upper middle class, bored housewife who somehow ends up affair-ing her way across Iran. Read about half, paged through the rest and then chucked it.

[Tatiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

enh. a kind of interesting story backdrop as it is set in Iran when the shah fell...but the story is marked culturally by when it was written (1970s woman perspective). the story is slow, and the ending is unsatisfactory.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read really good reviews about this book, so I think I was more disappointed that it didn't live up to expectations. The story was interesting and Johnson writes about competing cultures very well, but I think I just expected more.

[Tania Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of this book for it's peek at pre-revlotionaly Iran through the eyes of a spoilt American housewife, Chloe, and for the self realization she earns while confronting her own biases and flaws through her interactions with the Iranians she meets. Fabulous writing.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this - it gives a very realistic portrait of the expatriate experience.

[Niloofar · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was very Slllllllllllllloooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww read. I could have done without it.

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried getting through this book more than once, but it just didn't hold my attention enough. I was hoping it would get better, but I just couldn't read far enough to find out.

[Kelleyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not as good as Le Divorce. A little predictable and forced.