Chloe Fowler is a thirty-something wife and mother with one foot in the 1950's and the other in the pre-HIV, sexually free 1970's (book takes place about 1979) who finds herself unexpectedly in an Iran on the verge of revolution sans husband. I expected some superb writing since this book was nominated for a Pulitzer. But I could not identify with Chloe (especially her lament at the end "to be good") or any other character in the book. I also found awkward the frequent change of perspective--especially when the change was accomplished in very short paragraphs. The first few chapters seemed to drag on. I would like someone to tell me why this book was Pulitzer material--what am I missing?

This isn't my usual type of read, but I enjoyed it. None of the characters are very likeable, in the traditional sense, and the writing style is a little cool and distant.

But I'm always interested in stories of expats and "ugly Americans." Diane Johnson is also a very funny, observant writer. I loved "Le Divorce" (book and movie) so I knew I wanted to read this. I didn't tear through it, but I finished it, which feels like a huge accomplishment, considering how my reading has gone lately.

Diane Johnson has a great gift. To be able to write about manners and mores with such a sharp eye, keep it funny yet maintain gravitas, contemporary and timeless, can be masterful.

I first fell in love with Ms. Johnson's writing a decade ago with Le Divorce, when I fell in love with Isabelle and Roxy-- to live in Paris! Or Santa Barbara! To have money, style, breeding...well, maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Persian Nights follows in a similar vein, with Chloe our would-be heroine, arriving in Shiraz, Iran sans doctor husband, in the late 1970s, just prior to the revolution. She immediately falls in with the local expat community and the Iranians with whom they are friendly (aka, doctors and their wives), providing more than enough characters for a proper game of Clue.

Ms. Johnson allows a diverse inner monologue with Chloe and her peers, so we know that she's well educated (if naive), curious (just to the precipice of danger), and blatantly selfish. A group trip to a cave early on reminded me of A Passage To India, which Chloe was also reminded of. Forster is a good guide for Ms. Johnson, and overall she honors him well.

My only complaint was that SO MUCH melodrama happened in a few short weeks. Perhaps that's possible in a certain place at a certain time, but it made it kind of like a soap opera. Still, to peer in on the lives of Westerners abroad and see ourselves (it's true) is a gift.

I'm a fan of this book for it's peek at pre-revlotionaly Iran through the eyes of a spoilt American housewife, Chloe, and for the self realization she earns while confronting her own biases and flaws through her interactions with the Iranians she meets. Fabulous writing.

I really couldn't stand this book! I thought it was a misogynistic work by what only seems like a super ditzy author. It might be that it was written in 1986, but it just feels like the lead heroine is completely hard to respect and out of an out-dated era. She sort of floats around wondering which man to depend on next. Ick. OK, my rant is done!

I know this book is more than a decade old but it is still relevant and really brilliant. Diane Johnson gets inside the mind of her heroine, Chloe Fowler, and creates a portrait of a woman that is lovely and poignant.

I picked this book up at Wonderbooks a while ago and I just got around to reading it. It wasn't amazing and it wasn't terrible. The first half is a bit slow, but it definitely picks up near the middle. It definitely didn't go where I was expecting it to. I do have some unanswered questions, but overall it was good.

This is another in a steady line up of novels that were recommended in appendix form at the end Francine Prose's book on reading and writing, and represents yet another author about whom I had previously heard nothing, but enjoyed. A nominee for Pulitzer Prize for fiction this work follows the travels of an american housewife (of a doctor) to pre-revolutionary Iran, who initially set off with her husband but wouln up alone. The barely alive embers of a cold marriage go out for the protagonist and her husband, both of whom are unfaithful to each other during the course of this story. This major plot line is set against a backdrop of Iran at the brink of its revolution with a tension that touches all the characters except the ex-patriates in Chloe's group.
In this thoughtful introspective work there are no fast paced thematic lines that propel you to read rapidly, but generous character development draws the reader in. There are many different topics that Johnson comments on in this novel, to include broad cultural differences between America and Iran, womens rights, divorce, and extramaritial affairs, to name a few.
Overall a fun read with nice style.

It was very Slllllllllllllloooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww read. I could have done without it.

Enjoyable book. I had read Diane Johnson´s Le Divorce and enjoyed that book so I decided to read this book.

Jeffrey and Chloe Fowler leave the US for Iran so that he could work in a hospital for a month there to help the doctors. He´s a doctor in the US. En route, he receives a message that his colleague has had a terrible accident back home so he returns to the US but insists that his wife continue her journey to Iran so she can continue her research on Sassanian pottery. He´ll join her within a few weeks but never does. Apparently, their marriage is "on the rocks".

In the hospital compound in Shiraz, Iran, there are other foreigners visiting. Dr Junie Fay, Dr Dick Rothblatt, Dr Hugh Monroe who mysteriously shows up a couple weeks late, a couple of other medical couples, Linda Farmani who is the American-born wife of Dr Farmani the chief of the hospital, an archaelogist, and personnel from corporations like Grumman.

The first mystery is the dead foreigner they found while on a day trip to a sacred cave. Curiously, no one wants to know about the body. Not the hospital chief, not the police, not the morgue, not the American consulate. Who is he and what do they do with the body?

The second mystery is the whereabouts of Dr Hugh Monroe. He didn´t show up at the hospital on the day he was supposed to. "Someone" said he had troubles in Tehran but no one is willing to help him. Chloe does go to Isfahan where she meets him and starts her affair with him. He tells her he was not in Tehran but in London. However, she found his laundry from the Tehran Hilton.

This all takes place in the waning days of the Shah just prior to the Iranian Revolution. The SAVAK, the internal spy agency, supposedly have spies everywhere. One day Dr Farmani is picked up by the authorities in the early morning hours. Why? Who was the spy for SAVAK? Everyone is blaming Chloe for the arrest.

The group takes a trip to see Persepolis ruins, however, they meet with gunfire. There is a trade of guns for ancient artifacts. One in their group is killed. Is this an omen of trouble brewing?

During this entire time, Chloe and Hugh are having an affair. She also receives a letter from Jeffrey that he wants a divorce because he has found someone else. Dr Junie Fay and Dr Rick Rothblatt are having an affair too but she is in love with Abbas, one of the Iranian doctors.

I quite enjoyed the author´s writing. She gives a lot of insight into what Chloe is thinking about, especially the changes that are in her life.

Fun book.

I tried getting through this book more than once, but it just didn't hold my attention enough. I was hoping it would get better, but I just couldn't read far enough to find out.

Hard to believe this was written by a native English speaker but it was interesting if you can get past the weird style.