What is it like to belong to a harem, in thrall to a powerful warlord? Or to survive at the whim of foreign opportunism? The House That War Minister Built examines these issues and more as it portrays an Iranian family dispossessed by the twentieth century conflicts between a medieval religion and a modernizing population, between emerging nationalism and foreign repression. At times tragic, at times humorous, the novel is an epic saga with iconic characters, cultural insights and evocative historical details. It covers the Iranian experience with an empathy and scope that no other book has attempted.

If you like Reading Lolita in Tehran, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns; if you enjoy viewing history through through the lens of fiction, The House That War Minister Built is just the ticket. Find out why Kirkus Reviews describes it as a “deliciously complex patchwork quilt” with prose that is “lush” and “surprisingly dexterous”.

Find out more by reading the reviews and Q&As listed in the menu bar above, or by visiting the authors’ website.