Critical Praise

"A luminous debut about a pair of star-crossed lovers in Iran during the last days of the Shah...A well-crafted portrait of human love trapped in the vortex of history."

——Kirkus

"Firouz expertly brings to life the tense atmosphere of the years before the Iranian revolution."

——Booklist

"Her admirable and smooth prose is pointed, elegant, aphoristic, and wise."

——Los Angeles Times

"Violent, frightening and still tender and passionate, Firouz's debut is unique in its fictional subject matter and poetic in its prose... In the Walled Gardens takes readers on a remarkable journey back to an era both dark and hopeful..."

——Bookreporter.com