Perzština
The novel tells the story of Bahram, an elderly man who, after years of a strained and turbulent marriage to his wife Aghdas, makes a life-altering decision at the very last moment: he will not accompany his family to Canada.
The House That Is Burning is a novel about family, migration, love, suffering, and the true meaning of home. Through vividly drawn characters, Rana Soleimani immerses readers in the life of a family on the brink of emigration, confronting secrets, old wounds, and choices that have the power to alter their destinies forever. Beneath its dark humor and deeply human moments lies a moving story of attachment to homeland, the erosion of relationships, and the search for freedom in the later years of life.
Written in a fluid, multi-voiced style, The House That Is Burning takes readers on an unforgettable journey between Tehran and Toronto, between past and present, and between staying and leaving. More than the story of a single family, the novel reflects the shared experiences of many Iranians in today's world-a story that will keep readers invested in its characters until the very last page while posing an enduring question: In the end, where is home?
Rana Soleimani is a writer based in Stockholm. Born in March 1976 in Tehran, she studied economics at the University of Tehran. Since 2015, she has been residing in Sweden and is a member of the Writers in Exile Association as well as the Swedish Writers' Union.
Soleimani previously published the short story collection Lorca in Khiaban-e Fereshteh, from which the story Herta won one of Iran's most prestigious literary awards. She has also published the novel Ulysses Syndrome in London.
Her novel Long Live Life, which revolves around the lives of four imprisoned women, became one of the best-selling Persian-language books outside Iran in 2021 and 2022. Another of her works, A Day with the Seven-Thousand-Year-Olds, takes its title from verses by Omar Khayyam.
