Many came from the “Shahnameh,” an epic Persian poem that weaves the history of Iran like a colorful tapestry. In “Everything Sad Is Untrue,” Daniel Nayeri weaves an equally rich history of his family’s journey from Iran to America. In this epic tale, our hero is Khosrou, a 12-year-old boy named after a real king. Khosrou lives in Oklahoma, having fled Iran with his sister and his mother, whom the secret police threatened for practicing Christianity. In the stories he weaves, Khosrou’s family is not poor but had their land stolen generations ago, and his dad is still with him.

Source: New York Times August 29, 2020 15:02 UTC