Imagine an Iranian-American 'little woman' with social media influencers

Located near UCLA and Holmby Hills, the Tehrangeles (formerly Little Persia) neighborhood in Westwood may surprise visitors, but residents have long known that it is the center of the world's largest Iranian diaspora.

And what a center it is! He is now known for his conspicuous consumption, as on the television show “Shahs of Sunset.” The Iranians who bought homes and opened businesses along Westwood Boulevard in the 1960s, followed in the late 1970s by those who fled Iran after the shah's deposition, might be amused or scandalized, or both. , for the excesses of the 21st century detailed in porochista Khakpour's dazzling, dazzling work. slippery new novel, “Tehrangeles,” the story of a family's rise from extreme wealth to extreme fame as each of the six members grapples with their deepest needs.

The Milanis are Ali, or Al, the inventor of a very popular food called Pizzabomme, who loves to be mistaken for an Italian; his wife, Homa, chronically depressed; and his four daughters. The eldest, Violet, is a successful model whose sweet tooth threatens her livelihood. Next up is Roxanna-Vanna, even more successful as a social media influencer, who looks poised to become a young Lisa Vanderpump. Haylee devotes all of her time and energy, considerable amounts of both, to exercising and preparing increasingly healthier meals. Finally, Mina, barely a teenager, faces incipient illnesses and ambiguous gender boundaries. Between them, the Milanis millionaires form a kind of blinding disco ball of efforts, defects, fears and even endearing qualities of late capitalism.

If at first that potent mix reminds readers of novels of manners like those of Jane Austen or Jennifer Egan, move on: the author has a very specific precursor in mind, one that not only reflects her time, place and characters, but also focuses on female relationships. Haylee even specifically refers to it at one point: “I'm Amy, you're Meg, Roxi is Jo, and Mina is obviously Beth.” Of course, it's Louisa May Alcott's “Little Women,” the 1868 story of four sisters and her “Marmee” during the height of the Civil War. While Al Milani is not fighting for the Union, her complete lack of knowledge about what motivates her children means she could very well be absent.

Like Alcott's March sisters, the Milani sisters are all teenagers. Violet is 19, Roxanna-Vanna is 17, Haylee is 15, and Mina is 13; As any woman who has lived these ages knows (let alone any woman who has raised women these ages), every age is different. Thus, like the March sisters, Milani's daughters are painfully close at some points and almost estranged at others, especially since her enormous house allows everyone to hide. Homa takes advantage of this by changing her daily routine and stops collapsing into one guest room after another.

However, if “Tehrangeles” is a cover of “Little Women,” it is “Little Women” as a '90s mixtape, in keeping with the author's personal vibe. Each chapter offers a single character's perspective, even when all the other Milanis are involved, so that by the time you reach the setting of the book (a huge, over-the-top party that Roxanna-Vanna is throwing) you understand the family's origins. and motivations, which is no small thing.

This entire narrative is set in motion because a group of producers believe the family is ripe to become the new Kardashians on a reality show that will give Al and Roxanna all the attention they've always wanted. “Reality TV is about keeping it really real,” the head producer tells Roxanna-Vanna, and she gets excited by the promise of the spotlight and worries that someone will discover her secret (no spoilers here).

Like Pizzabomme – “the essence of a pizzeria mixed into high-concept chaos” – the identities of these characters, and their colleagues, classmates, employers and employees, are mixed dishes of contradictory ingredients. Just as production on the show appears to be about to begin, the global pandemic looms and shakes everyone, especially Haylee, who immerses herself in neo-right conspiracy theories. The elderly family cat (Persian, natch), Pari, disappears, deeply upsetting Violet and threatening sisterly bonds, while two of them desperately search for Pari and two of them don't seem to care, a bit like Mr. Piano. Laurence in Alcott's novel.

If that comparison takes things too far, then it's okay to loosen the restraint and admit that even if “Tehrangeles” takes inspiration from “Little Women,” it's not a pale imitation. This novel is entirely its own Rube Goldberg machine of ups and downs, ins and outs, arguments and “hugs” between four thoroughly modern young ladies. In the midst of the COVID panic, the family has a video conference with reality TV producers, who tell Roxanna-Vanna that she's a big success, “really raw and honest and she's paying off big time.”

She says she was “born for this” and then asks if she's been too “messy.”

The response: “Well, you have, but that's perfect, we want it. For you. It's great. Keep it up!”

They then come up with the idea of ​​each sister writing a kind of essay for the reality confessional trope, which adds another genre to the mixtape, in which each sister “speaks” in her own voice for a few pages and, In the midst of sharing what he thinks is important (for Roxanna-Vanna, the Hervé Leger bandage dress; for Haylee, the invention of 5G access), he reveals his secret motivation. For example, Roxanna-Vanna says that clothing “is everything and everyone has always known it.”

When the party ends, nothing has changed, or maybe everything, and Roxanna-Vanna has the last word in the last chapter, a stream of consciousness bordering on unreadable that nevertheless deserves to be read because it illuminates this Sweet, messy and trendy disco ball from a book with a sparkling joy bomb.

Bethanne Patrick is a book reviewer, podcast host, and author of the memoir “life b“Overcoming double depression.”