A Tehran So Quiet

And Other Stories — a debut collection

Cover of A Tehran So Quiet and Other Stories by Mehdi M. Kashani

Twelve stories about Iranians making — and remaking — their lives between Tehran and Canada. A factory owner says a last goodbye before leaving Tehran for Vancouver. A woman's frustration with the 2009 election cracks open her comfortable life abroad. A husband endures an excruciating dinner with his equanimous father-in-law. Sisters on the outs reunite to settle family matters; a father reaches for connection with his young son after a divorce.

Ranging from quiet character studies to tragicomic farces, these are stories about the bargains we strike with family, love, and duty — and about what it costs to start over in a new land, where the old country's troubles arrive by phone call and never quite leave you alone.

“In Mehdi M. Kashani's riveting short story collection A Tehran So Quiet, Iranian immigrants navigate difficult and confusing relationships.” — Foreword Reviews
“A collection of unflinching stories about the ample risks and elusive rewards of starting over in a new land.” — Foreword Reviews
PublisherUniversity of Alberta Press
PublishedAugust 13, 2026
FormatSoftcover, 190 pages
Price$24.99 CAD
ISBN978-1-77212-877-2

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