2 stars, "It was okay." There were a few passages that were interesting to me, but if I'm honest, this book never really engaged me much. Not much happened, in my view. There were a few "key" moments, but even one that was a "shocker" of sorts didn't add much to the story. And when we get to 9-11, we read a little about how the MC and his family experiences some of the hatred and mistrust towards Muslims, or just others, but even that barely goes anywhere. I feel badly dumping on a debut novel, but for me, this was a very disappointing read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a difficult book to read in regards to the subject matters. A coming of age story from a boy’s perspective whose parents are from Iran.

There are some really vivid, captivating scenes in this book, but overall the novel suffers from the usual problems I have with autofiction (strange jumps in time, meditation for meditation's sake, directionless plots that of course mirror the aimlessness of life but still leave me dissatisfied).

2.5/5

Wow what a heart wrenching story. I felt like the author perfectly captured how ethnic families deal with tragedy and trauma (ie: not talking about or acknowledging it) but I just kept wishing for so much better for our main character.

The downside is this book falls into the trap many stories told over a long period of time fall into: being too broad in the various topics that are brought up and not expanding on them enough.

Also, many of the stories/scenes felt irrelevant to any major plot points.

Even still, this was a great debut with a deep storyline. I look forward to seeing the authors future works.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I think there’s a great story underneath, but it isn’t fully fleshed out. I wish it had been longer, more in depth.

Narrated by K, the youngest of three Iranian-American brothers, growing up in a small apartment in a crumbling apartment building in the Valley of Los Angeles, with their Iranian mother who has gotten her nursing degree and sleeps on a blanket in the living room, and their father, once an engineer in Iran, now filled with regrets that have turned into resentments. Their father looms hugely, returning at dawn after a night of gambling, the boys must be quiet, K stealing money from his wallet once he's asleep because soon it will all be gone again. Their father rules over the apartment and them his treatment of them unsettling, their mother there for them but keeping out of her husband's way. Angry with his wife, he kidnaps his sons and takes them to Iran, where they have never been, and the summer will pass before they are sent back to their Maman without their father's knowledge. Iran will change each them, as will the 9/11 attacks. Three brothers once close going their own ways, exploring identity, sexuality, and more. Multiple issues are sometimes jammed together - identity, sexual abuse, sexual awakening, queerness in an Iranian family, all in only a few pages. The tension ratchets up but often releases quickly. It took me a while to get into the rhythm of it, the casualness of the writing that tracks the young narrator, but once I did, I was glad to have stayed with it.

Thanks to Random House/Hogarth and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a beautiful debut in the vein of Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I wish it had been longer so that I could have spent more time with K.

I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN by Khashayar J. Khabushani is a coming-of-age novel about K, the youngest of three Iranian American brothers growing up in the San Fernando Valley under the violent whims of a gambling father and the solid love of a working (and thus often absent) mother. K contends with what it means to be Muslim and gay and still find belonging in the predominantly male world of his friendships.

K’s life is characterized by his apartment complex, financial hardships, and pick-up basketball. When the three brothers abruptly find themselves in Iran under duress, they begin to question their lives, and upon returning home months later, nothing is ever quite the same. The aftermath of 9/11 also transforms their relationship to the greater world.

Khabushani’s prose is vivid, each scene clearly rendered through the unflinching eyes of youth. Where the writing falters a tad is in the abrupt transitions; weeks or months can pass between paragraphs without any clear indication. Also, there are some emotionally fraught moments in the book that aren’t given much room to breathe; the camera pans away to an unrelated incident and the reader has to make assumptions about how the protagonist deals with these events internally.

That being said, I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN is an intimate and worthwhile look at boyhood, queerness, and one Muslim immigrant family’s efforts to make it in America despite the shadows that haunt us. It’s a sorely needed perspective and I’m so grateful to @hogarthbooks @netgalley for the eARC! 3.5/5 stars rounded up.

I Will Greet the Sun Again is a lyrical coming of age novel that follows our narrator as he grows from child to the cusp of adulthood. The book touches on so many topics, and does so in a way that makes points without the need to drive them home.

I was struck more than once as I read the book by the skill the author has to create a feel for a life without the need to immerse the reader in detail. The characters move through the narrative the way people move through our lives: connected, but in their own bubble.

Descriptions of the book will give you an idea of the topics the author explores, but only in reading the book can you live in K's world, in his pain and his love and his joy and his fear and his hope.

A remarkable novel.

In a beautiful writing style Khabushani has written a book that needs to be read, especially in today’s political climate.

It is a heartbreaking story of a gay boy growing up in the US, with Iranian parents and the difficulties such a background would create. It is written as if it is the author’s autobiography and I felt such a connect to the main character. Though a sad story the book is written in a very hopeful way.

One consideration before picking up this book is that there are two fairly graphic moments in the novel that I found difficult to read. They were appropriate to the story being told, but it was just a lot for me.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Thanks to Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is poignant story of a young Iranian American who experiences a childhood of abuse from his father, struggling for a place in his home, his school and neighborhood, and in this country.

The tone is intimate and unflinching. The straightforward language magnifies the simplicity of a child's perspective and a level of urgency. At times, I felt as if the words were a confession. He divulges raw desire and fear. His innocence makes him vulnerable but it's sweet and affecting. His confusion is honest and unrestrained. And his moments of joy soar.

I very much appreciated how the author portrayed Iranian American and Iranian experiences here. The scenes in Iran have a certain beauty to them...the interactions with the locals sparkle.

K's desire for men has a purity to it and I wish he could have found love as his brother, Justin, did...even for a bit.

If you need CW/TW is domestic violence and sexual abuse, then please consider this.

I was pleased at how Forugh Farrokhzad is referred to in this book. And her poem and place here demonstrate how far Iran has changed.

I will keep an eye on Khabushani and his future writing. I want to see his upcoming titles and how his storycrafting progresses.

I really appreciated the personal and restrained voice of this novel—well observed but not overly editorializing. You leave with a deeper understanding of the dynamics of family relationships, and what it means to live in an unfamiliar cultural context, trying to navigate not just an understanding of your environment and heritage but also of yourself.

I LOVED this book! It was beautiful and haunting. The book flowed so beautifully and almost felt like each chapter was its own story and could stand alone.

Coming-of-age novel about three Iranian-American brothers growing up in L.A. Mainly focuses on the youngest one who secretly likes men.

I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN is a novel from the point of view of K, a Persian-American kid living in the San Fernando Valley in the 90s. K lives with his two older brothers, Shawn and Justin, his mother, and his father. K struggles as his father has a gambling addiction and the family has little money. The father is cruel and beat his wife and children. Also, K develops an attraction to an older neighbor friend, Johnny. This novel explores the life of a first generation American coming of age at the cusp of the new millennium.

Thank you to Hogarth for sending me an advance copy of this book. I hadn’t heard of it but I’m so glad it ended up in my hands. I read almost all of it on a plane ride and couldn’t stop reading. Khabushani’s voice drives this narrative and makes it such a compelling novel. I suspect it’s draw directly from lived experiences since the narrator is only named as K. Without a traditional plot and dialogue, the voice is what brings the reader in and hooks them. The chapters are mostly short chronological vignettes about K’s family with gorgeous descriptions packed with powerful emotion. I was enraptured by K the entire time.

One warning, the middle has a scene that is heartbreaking and difficult to read, one of the hardest I’ve read in a long time. It’s not gratuitous and not graphic but it does involve sexual abuse. If you’re sensitive to such situations, you may want to avoid this book.

I thought the writing in this novel was excellent. It reminded me of WE THE ANIMALS and BROTHER ALIVE if you like those books about brothers. Khabushani is a brilliant writer. I can’t wait to read what he writes next.▪️

This is an absolutely stellar debut novel. A coming-of-age novel at its core, I Will Greet the Sun Again tells the story of K, an Iranian-American boy, growing up in California and, briefly, Iran in the mid-90s and early 2000s. For a coming-of-age novel, the structure really is unique, utilizing short, almost disconnected, chapters to weave K's story together. Through Khabushani’s lyrical and poignant prose, we learn about K's desires, fears, hopes, and traumas. As a character, K really does pour off the page, slowly becoming fully formed as the novel goes on. Khabushani managed to breathe an incredible amount of life into every page of this work, and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I want to start this review by thanking NetGalley for giving me this ARC and the opportunity to read this debut novel! I am constantly working on diversifying my TBR and reading list, and this book was a great opportunity to learn about Iranian culture, along with many other things.

There is so much to love about this story. It is written as fiction but knowing a little bit about the author's background makes it easy to see the parallels between K and the author himself. I think this added something really genuine to the story and the experience as a reader. I was drawn to the story and K's family dynamics over and over again. His relationship with other characters in the novel and with himself was very dynamic and felt like a real person. Obviously, this is a low bar, but I appreciated all of the characters' many personality facets, whether that be good or bad in terms of the story. The traumas K faced were real, and I felt like he dealt with them in a real way as well. While it was difficult to read at some points, I think the intersection between faith, sexuality, self, and trauma was done really well. This can be a hard feat, and Khabushani pulled it off.

There are two reasons I didn't give this novel a higher rating, and some audiences might not bat an eye at them. At times, in the younger chapters from K's voice, the language felt incredibly mature. People are, of course, always maturing and developing at different rates, but the chapters where K is less than 10 years old felt like they were written (or being spoken by) an older teenager. There were a couple of instances in which the language and word choice pulled me right out of the story and made me question if that was really a genuine way for a younger child to speak. The only other issue I had with this novel was that some chapters/sections felt underdeveloped while others felt incredibly laid out. I don't think there were any major plot holes that were a direct consequence of these underdeveloped chapters, but I think a lot could have been added to the story had some of the sections been more fully fleshed out. I wanted to know more about certain things but as soon as we got close, the chapter ended and time moved forward. This isn't necessarily a huge flaw, but I was upset about it while reading.

Overall I think this is a great debut novel that focuses on identity and family in a culture that is frequently misunderstood in terms of these themes. I am very grateful I was able to read this ARC and I am looking forward to seeing what Khabushani writes next!

Rating: ★★★.75/5

This was a stunning read. This was accurate, beautiful representation of adolescence — the novel centers a youth struggling to find his place in the world while straddling two countries. The love and depth with which an Iranian/Iranian-American family was portrayed through the eyes of that youth was everything that I could have asked for.

That being said, I wish that this novel had moved a little bit farther away from artistic snapshot. I wish that K had gotten a little bit more of an internal personality -- a lot (maybe too much to the point where the book reads like I'm watching a film with subtitles at some parts) of what we learn about him comes from his actions/reactions to external things.

I also think that K getting molested by his father was a completely unnecessary addition to the storyline. Obviously these things happen and they should be written about, but the way that it's inserted into the narrative makes it seem connected to his queerness. It's far too easy for a homophobic reader to read this and understand that K is queer because his father had pedophilic homosexual urges. I also think that in the absence of his father sexually abusing him, there would have been an opportunity to build a much more complex father-son relationship.

I really enjoyed this look at an Iranian-American boy from the Valley as he comes of age with his brothers between California and Iran. The style is interesting, it almost seems like interconnected short stories until you realize that the story is indeed linear- once I got into the flow, I came to appreciate it as a way to move forward in time efficiently. The writing is very atmospheric, and I could truly imagine California and Iran, sometimes almost smelling or tasting them with how vividly they are depicted.

The use of Farsi was really lovely and realistic to my understanding of how a lot of immigrant families speak- and no glossary, at least in my ARC, which I loved. Also, so much incredible food.

The coming of age of our protagonist is really well done, and his burgeoning queer identity is handled in such a subtle and realistic way. I do want to warn for CW for sexual assault of a minor and incest, but it's handled well and not exploitative at all.

Overall, I highly recommend this one. It's an atmospheric gem about queerness, identity, and family.