Her books are Jane- Austen- like in the author's focus on the relationships of the characters and their foibles. I read this years ago and just reread it, wanting something light. I think it's my favorite of her novels, set in Iran, before the fall of the Shah. The main character, Chloe, is a type that is much less common these days, a woman who depends on her relationships with men (her husband and then her lover) for her sense of self. She begins to get a clue about other alternatives during an eventful stay in Iran.

I had read really good reviews about this book, so I think I was more disappointed that it didn't live up to expectations. The story was interesting and Johnson writes about competing cultures very well, but I think I just expected more.

The cover of this book screams "CHICK LIT", until you realize it was nominated for a Pulitzer in literature. Ms. Johnson is a master at plopping American characters in foreign countries, and showing the similarities and differences between two cultures. The ultimate lesson, I believe, is that nothing is what it seems on the news or on the surface, and you have to get to know people before you can make sweeping judgements. "You can't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes."

This novel is set just before the fall of the Shahin Iran, although no specific dats are mentioned, so I spent most of the novel being not quite sure about the time frame. An interesting cast of characters come together is a housing compound for foreign doctors and run into various misunderstandings. A mysterty runs its way through the book and is not resolved until the very end.

Good but not as good as Le Divorce. A little predictable and forced.

Diane Johnson has achieved a remarkable feat of describing a world far removed from that of the main protagonist in an tone neither patronizing nor spectacular. ChLoe Fowler finds herself alone in pre-revolutionary Iran, at a point o which the hinges of history are irretrievably creaking. Through the author's taut, crisp story-telling and sensuous, evocative imagery, we are taken on an unforgettable journey.

A very good read, keeping in mind that it was written over 20 years ago so the political scene has changed in many ways.

Awful. Awful. Awfuuuuul.

This book is a dip into the 1970's culture. It was a time of casual sexuality, nascent womans lib, naive worldly opinions of foreign cultures. Set in Iran in the last days the of the Shaw, Chloe,an American doctor's wife awaits the arrival of her husband from California. These were the days that foreign doctors would gather in struggling countries to exchange ideas,help, do charity cases. As Chloe waits,she begins to evolve and finally really see herself as she is and wake up enough to start living.
This is insightful,fantastic writing that is full of atmosphere . Wry humor, kind hearted treatment of even the most selfish of motives, it immersives the reader in a foreign land in a far away time.

Enjoyable although some of the dialogue needed me to suspend my disbelief - people just don't talk like that. I don't really understand why it was nominated for the Pulitzer. It's not a game changer, and most of the characters are fairly insipid or just props to the plotline - if you can call it that. But Chloe is charming, her voice is believable. And the story itself is fun (if a little contrived)

Johnson introduces us to Chloe Fowler, the most vacuous woman I have ever read about. She embarks on a trip to Iran and has an affair or two while there. There is a hint of mystery, but Chloe, although war is ramping up all around her, has interrupted thoughts of who is sleeping with whom, how has her husband been having an affair and what she should do after she returns home to California. She has two kids, but she pawns off thinking about them whenever she can. She seems to be vapid and insipid - someone one would look on with pity - as she seriously cannot string two ideas together. The redeeming part of the book is the description of Iran and the political climate of that time.

Yuck. Just yuck. I don't think I have ever read a book with a more insipid main character. Chloe is pathetic. She is entitled, selfish, stupid and a bigot. And most of the other characters were not much better. Honestly, I don't think the author was capable of writing a character any other way. Blargh.

And the writing - I don't even know where to begin. It was so scattered, I could hardly follow the story. Not that there was much of a story to follow. Just the random ramblings of a spoiled housewife on vacation in Iran. And the constant referring to every character by their first and last names every single time they were mentioned was cumbersome and irritating. The writing, aside from being scattered, was also choppy. And no one speaks the way the characters in this book spoke. "'Chloe, where have you been?' they all cried." I have never been anywhere that 7 (or more) different people yelled the identical sentence to me in unison. Honestly, I'm no author, so I don't imagine anything I write would sell, but I think even I could write better dialogue.

Horrible book. Complete waste of time. Don't bother.

*Edited to add - this piece of trash was nominated for a Pulitzer? Was the committee drunk that year?!?