An incredibly imaginative yet always charming love story set in contemporary Iran that crackles with wit, verve and social comment

'A brilliant novel about the complexities of writing and publishing in Iran' Guardian
'Rich and riveting' Irish Times
'This important, timely novel is sharp, playful and zesty with life' Daily Mail
'A meditation on the interplay of life and art, reality and fiction' New York Times
'Mandanipour's writing is exuberant, bonhomous, clever... powerful' New Yorker

Sara falls in love with Dara through secret messages hidden in code in the pages of books that have been outlawed, but then something quite extraordinary and unexpected happens. Through adeptly handled asides to the reader, as well as anecdotes, codes and metaphors, and cheeky references to the wonderfully rich Iranian literary heritage, the novel builds to offer a revealing yet often playful and hopeful comment on the pressures of writing within the tightly prescribed Islamic regime, pressures that naturally are heightened where affairs of the heart are concerned.