Out of all the novels I have read by Diane Johnson, this is the one with the most enduring literary value. I had no idea who Omar Khayyam or Edward FitzGerald were, but by the end of the novel I had to look for a copy of the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam." "Persian Nights" is set in 1978 in Iran. Chloe Fowler, the heroine, is a housewife from San Francisco. Like many women of that era, Chloe decided on the boring but safe path of housewife instead of a radical feminist one. An accident forces her to travel to Iran alone without her husband. To her surprise, she finds that she loves the adventure and freedom of her trip. Chloe discovers several possible love interests, a possible new career in archaeology, and a passion for a neglected dog. The real question becomes what will Chloe do with her life now that she has found a passion for living. This novel is a paean to carpe diem and wine drinking. As we all know, the party will end badly when the Iranians overthrow the Shah. I couldn't put this book down until the very last page. I plan to reread this novel whenever I finish reading "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" as translated by Edward FitzGerald and "The Vagabond" by Colette.

I had read Le Divorce, Le Marriage and L'affaire before ordering Persian nights. I am very surprised by the negative comments here. Although the later books are very incisive as to the cultural and psychological differences between the French and their both loved and hated US friends, I find Persian Nights a very well written and interesting rendition of the suburban upper middle class wife and mother of the 70s. Feminism by passed college-educated Chloe. Instead she chose the safety of a marriage to a successful doctor. Even her volunteer work as a museum docent is safe. The most daring action she can muster is extra-marital sex. Thrust alone into the totally alien environment of pre-revolutionary Iran she sets off on a journey of self discovery and finds herself lacking in every aspect of her life. As danger, fear, disease, poverty and even death slowly creep silently into her safe cocoon Chloe 's transformation begins. Though in the past her impulses for action have always been stifled by a pervading apathy she increasingly abandons the safe role of the observer for that of the actor.
Persian Nights is a wonderful, insightful novel that very much captures the feel of the women's movement of the 60s and 70s cleverly staged vis a vis Iran's uprising against the superficially benign regime of the Shah. This setting adds to the complexity and interest of this work.

This was not a good book at all. Weak characters, unrealistic representations, and dull storylines mixed with a limited knowledge of Iran and Persian culture. The front cover literally illustrates this - a woman standing dressed in Arabian, not Persian clothing. Poor taste indeed.