Praise for Suzi’s work

“Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh’s stories are a stunning glimpse into the wide-ranging experiences, lives, and viewpoints of the women of Iran. In sharp and gorgeous prose, these stories encompass vast and varied perspectives, yet all tackle the idea of our commonalities and how these women rise and bloom into their own complex, resilient selves.”

— Dan Wickett, founder of the Emerging Writers Network.

“Ehtesham-Zadeh is particularly skillful at exploring the many complications and nuances of ethnic identity, class, and cultural displacement, and equally good on the many complications and nuances of personal relationships. She writes extremely intelligently and sensitively about family. Her characters are well developed and consistently engaging; there is always the feeling that one is reading about real human beings in real situations. Also notable is a genuinely humane attitude towards the characters, a willingness to give to each one his or her full humanity. I was also struck by how well she writes about sexuality, whether from the male or the female point of view.”

"A captivating collection that explores the lives of Iranian women balancing cultural expectations with personal ambition, love, and loss. In each one of these stories, we are transported to the inner world of a resilient woman whose company we don’t want to leave. Written with clarity, heart, and refreshing honesty this is a compelling, gorgeous debut."

       —from Marjan Kamali, bestselling author of The Stationery Shop and Together Tea

"In Zan, the personal converges with the political in unexpected ways. These memorable, sharply observed stories enter the lives of women caught between countries, regimes, attitudes and cultures. Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh is a writer of great humanity, global vision, wisdom and heart."

–Jennifer Haigh, author of Mercy Street

In Ehtesham-Zadeh’s debut collection, the Iranian Revolution exerts its massive gravity, like a giant planet at the edge of these narrative universes. In “Aab,” for example, teenage Minoo confronts the contrast between her grandmother—a downcast old woman—and the champion swimmer on the Iranian national team her grandmother used to be before Khomeini came to power. In “Coming Out, Going Under,” a young lesbian under her father’s thumb in Tehran is given access to an online network of other queer people in her country. In the stories set in the U.S., even Americanized characters experience a sense of shame and secrecy that makes them feel like outsiders in their own lives—as in “Her Revolution,” when Shireen, a middle-aged teacher, receives an unexpected email from a former lover from her pre-college years in Tehran that upends the quiet, stable life in which she guards the secrets of her past. These are plainspoken protest stories that balance head and heart in their attempts to evoke empathy.

— from Kirkus Reviews

“Zan is the required text for understanding the slogan Woman, Life, Freedom—a heartbreaking collection of stories about Iranian women that combine into a message much larger than a single country. The stories make up a rich tapestry, like Scheherazade’s tales, that reveals not victimhood, but strong personal identity, deep connection, and immense and world-changing power.”

— from Mehrsa Baradaran, author of The Color of Money and The Quiet Coup

“Zan cuts through prevailing narratives of Middle Eastern womanhood with characters who demand to be seen for who they are—sensuous, political, fierce, and imperfect. These visceral and beautifully wrought stories are brimming with unforgettable detail and vivid imagery that resonates long after the page.”

—from Maija Makinen, author of The Ghosts of Other Immigrants

"Zan is a collection of rich, groundbreaking stories which explore the ways that Iranian women struggle to survive under the weight of old customs and the pull of their homeland as they face American possibilities and freedom. Ehtesham-Zadeh is a sophisticated writer with deep understanding and a keen eye for details.  The stories in Zan are always nuanced and moving , and ultimately, the book is an uplifting eulogy to the indomitable human spirit."

— from National Book Award-winner Ha Jin