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Presents

Farhang’s Fourth Book Club Selection

By author Porochista Khakpour

Farhang Foundation is honored to welcome bestselling author Porochista Khakpour in conversation with our host, renowned author Abdi Nazemian.

Named a "BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR” by Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W Magazine, and Vanity Fair

Meet the Milanis. Fast-food heiresses, L.A. Royalty, and your newest reality TV obsession

“Delightfully twisted and heartfelt…Khakpour is a satirist extraordinaire.”
Kevin Kwan, author of Lies and Weddings

“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

Iranian-American multimillionaires Ali and Homa Milani have it all, a McMansion in the hills of Los Angeles, a microwaveable snack empire, and four spirited daughters. There’s Violet, the big-hearted aspiring model; Roxanna, the chaotic influencer; Mina, the chronically-online overachiever; and the impressionable health fanatic Haylee. On the verge of landing their own reality TV show, the Milanis realize their deepest secrets are about to be dragged out into the open before the cameras even roll.

Each of the Milanis, even their aloof Persian cat Pari, has something to hide, but the looming scrutiny of fame also threatens to bring the family closer than ever. Dramatic, biting yet full of heart, Tehrangeles is a tragicomic saga about high-functioning family dysfunction and the ever-present struggle to accept one’s true self.

About Porochista Khakpour

Porochista Khakpour is the award-winning Iranian-American author of the novels Sons and Other Flammable Objects, The Last Illusion, and Tehrangeles, as well as the memoir Sick and essay collection Brown Album. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Bookforum, Elle, Slate, and many others. Among her many fellowships is a National Endowment for the Arts award. She has taught at Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Bard, Wesleyan, Fordham, and more for the past 20 years. Her most recent book Tehrangeles (Pantheon, 2024) was an Indie Next Pick, an NPR Book of the Day, one of TIME's 25 Most Anticipated Books of 2024, as well as one of the "Best Books of 2024” by Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and W; it has also been longlisted for the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize and the 2025 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award.

She was born in Tehran, raised in LA's San Gabriel Valley, and currently lives in NYC's Harlem.

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About Abdi Nazemian

Abdi Nazemian is the author of five novels including Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor book, and The Chandler Legacies. His latest novel, Only This Beautiful Moment, was the 2024 Stonewall Award Winner from the American Library Association. For his literary work, he has also received a Lambda Literary Award. His screenwriting credits include movies such as The Artist's Wife and The Quiet, and television shows including Ordinary Joe. He has been a producer, executive producer or associate producer on a number of films, including Call Me By Your Name and Little Woods. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog Disco.

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