Tehrangeles

Longlisted for the 2025 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award
Longlisted for the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize

Named a Best Book of the Year So Far by Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and W Magazine

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by TIME, New York Post, The Week, The National, Nylon, Bustle, Our Culture, Lit Hub, The Millions, Electric Literature, Katie Couric Media, Seattle Times, Chicago Review of Books, Alta Journal, Write or Die, and Library Journal

“[An] irresistible voice…Compulsively readable…Think the Kardashians meet Little Women and Crazy Rich Asians…An indelible, uproarious snapshot of young womanhood.”
—Vogue

“Like Little Women on an ayahuasca trip, Tehrangeles is delightfully twisted and heartfelt. If you set a TikTok mukbang at a Crazy Rich Persian wedding, you’d still have a long way to go to capture the extravagant eccentricities of the Milani sisters. Khakpour is a satirist extraordinaire who astutely captures the zeitgeist of a culture and a place where ‘reality’ is just something you livestream and truth is a billion times stranger than fiction. The antics and agonies of the Milani family had me googling pet psychics and turning the pages gleefully—at turns surprised and horrified, but always charmed and laughing so hard.”
—Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians and Lies and Weddings

“[A] biting, clever tragicomic…Think: Reality TV, Los Angeles McMansions, and a fast food empire.”
—Nylon

“Dazzling…If at first that potent mix reminds readers of novels of manners such as Jane Austen’s or Jennifer Egan’s, keep going: The author has a very specific forerunner in mind, one that not only reflected its time and place and characters, but also put the spotlight on female relationships…Of course, it’s Little Women by Louisa May Alcott…However, if Tehrangeles is a version of Little Women, it’s Little Women as a 1990s mixtape…Tehrangeles takes inspiration from Little Women, it’s no pale imitation. This novel is entirely its own Rube Goldberg machine of ups and downs and ins and outs and arguments and ‘hugging it out’ between four thoroughly modern mademoiselles…[A] sweet, messy, modern disco ball of a book with a glitter bomb of joy.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A literary phenom.”
—Seattle Times

“Imagine a social media savvy Little Women rooted in an Iranian-American enclave in Los Angeles, toss in a potential reality show, add a world-changing global pandemic and it still doesn’t fully encompass the twisty tumult and pleasure in Porochista Khakpour’s new novel, Tehrangeles…A pitch-perfect sendup of reality TV, the untruthiness of social media, and the challenge of living an authentic life in such murky waters. Khakpour’s sharp wit also examines cultural identity, assimilation, economic inequities, consumerism, and social mediafication of modern life, while never losing the main thread of this lively family…Memorable and outrageous.”
—Chicago Review of Books, “‘Crazy Rich West Asians Meet Euphoria’: Porochista Khakpour’s Vibrant Novel, Tehrangeles“

“Get ready to meet your next favorite literary family…Tehrangeles is an iridescent satire that has its finger firmly on the pulse of our modern culture; a hilarious and tragic novel that quickly unravels into the delightful chaos of a dysfunctional family.”
—Chicago Review of Books, “12 Must-Read Books of June 2024”

“A real crowd-pleaser.”
—Bustle

“Wildly entertaining…Expect plenty of sharp satire and hilariously accurate observations about the ultra-rich in this pop culture fan’s dream read.”
—The Skimm

“A blend of Crazy Rich Asians meets Little Women…I haven’t laughed this much at a book in a LONG time. The dialogue is snappy. The situations are wild. And, I couldn’t get enough of these sisters…Sure, you could say that this book is about rich people behaving badly. But it’s so much more than that. Beneath all the gold and glitter, the Milani sisters and their parents are navigating their identities as an immigrant family living in the US…So, if you are looking for a good time and an examination of young womanhood—complete with ridiculous situations and laugh-out-loud moments—Tehrangeles is for you.”
—Book Riot

“What if Little Women were a brilliant satire that featured über-wealthy Gen Y Iranian teenagers in Los Angeles?…Wonderfully campy.”
—Alta

“A fun and fabulous exploration of a slice of LA that I knew little about.”
—Katie Couric Media

“Khakpour’s depiction of Iranian Americans in the cast of the Milani family is far more complex, rich (in both senses), and also funnier than anything we’ve read… Khakpour squarely, and humorously, addresses how painful it can sometimes be to be different, to be immigrant, to be ‘other,’ in a society that prefers the ‘extractive’ to the whole, even when you’re ridiculously rich…Tehrangeles hones in on some of the most palpable issues that plague Iranian families which have both wealth and deep anxiety about being seen…Entertaining and engaging.”
—World Literature Today

“Funny, devastating, and filled with dazzlingly accurate observations about the absurdities of our age, this is a story and family that will stay with you long after you finish. It’s a giddy and gaudy life that the Milanis lead but underneath the bravado lies a tenderness that Khakpour reveals with playfulness and marvelous narrative style.”
—Marjan Kamali, author of The Stationery Shop

“Like all great satires, Porochista Khakpour’s Tehrangeles is both hilarious and heartfelt. With razor-sharp writing, Khakpour brings to life a family, a place, and a series of modern dilemmas that will leave you laughing, thinking, and wanting more.”
—Abdi Nazemian, author of Only This Beautiful Moment

“Porochista Khakpour has lowkey written a hilarious book about a truly terrible time. Tehrangeles takes us inside the surreal world of the wealthy and beautiful Milani sisters, coming of age in an extraordinary time and posting it all—the good, the bad, the ridiculous—on social media.”
—Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl

“Fun and compulsive but with her signature dayglo insight on every page, Khakpour has recast the beach read in her own image.”
—Emma Forrest, author of Your Voice in My Head

“With a sharp eye for the chaos and complexities of family life and a breezy, Babitzian wit, Porochista Khakpour’s Tehrangeles brings us the unforgettable story of the Milani sisters. At once moving family drama, sparkling intergenerational comedy, and perfectly-tuned portrait of our modern, social-media-obsessed condition, Tehrangeles is an endless delight.”
—Matthew Specktor, author of Always Crashing in the Same Car

“Fun, frothy, smart, biting, and hilarious—an utterly unique kind of pandemic story. Full of surprising twists, this tale of family dysfunction, sisterly angst, and self-discovery made me laugh, think, cringe, and laugh some more. Like the most skilled of reality stars, the Milanis grabbed my attention and I couldn’t tear myself away!”
—Deepa Varadarajan, author of Late Bloomers

“Ultra-observant…In compulsively readable sections examining fame, identity, and family dynamics, the Milani family’s chapter is as exuberant as it is entertaining.”
—Our Culture

“A wry, juicy satire that satisfied my urge for good sentences and great drama. Loosely, it’s Little Women meets Shahs of Sunset, with a cast of pitch-perfect characters who I found exasperating, heart-rending, and endlessly compelling…If you love talking to your smartest friends about the Bravoverse, this is the summer novel for you.”
—Lit Hub

“Khakpour’s wit has always been keen, and it’s hard to imagine a writer better positioned to take the concept of Shahs of Sunset and make it literary.”
—The Millions

“A kind of hyperreal neon inversion of Little Women, if the March girls had to deal with hashtags, eating disorders, microaggressions, and group chats…Iranian and American cultures collide in a shower of glitter and tears in this sendup of the SoCal elite.”
—Kirkus

“Wry…[Khakpour] provides a vibrant sense of place and an indelible family portrait. This has plenty of heart.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Khakpour’s prose is smart, sassy, and filled with pop culture references…Fans of shrewd and funny pop-culture satire and reality TV will consume this with delight.”
—Booklist