Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026
'The best feminist novel I know. It's thrilling, beautiful and hilarious' Johanne Lykke Holm
'A courageous, talented woman, and above all, a great writer' Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis
The internationally acclaimed masterpiece from one of Iran's most influential writers - a powerful and essential tale of female freedom
She wanted to be a tropical tree. This was what she wanted with all her heart. It is always the heart's desire that drives one insane'
Women Without Men traces the interwoven destinies of five women – including a wealthy middle-aged housewife, a sex worker and a schoolteacher – as they arrive by different paths to live together in an abundant garden on the outskirts of Tehran.
Drawing on elements of Islamic mysticism and recent Iranian history, this unforgettable novel depicts women escaping the narrow confines of family and society, and imagines their future living in a world without men.
Translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh
Parsipur's layered tales, glittering in a fresh translation, continue to beckon you into a world that is simultaneously scoured by reality, and touched with fable and myth ― 2026 International Booker Prize Judges
Candid, enlightening and entertaining … There’s a sense of glee, where suffering goes out the other side and comes back as exuberance -- John Self ― The Times
Whenever she goes through an experience that might be leveraged for epiphany, catharsis or a clear moral lesson, Parsipur always goes for something more unexpected. It’s this that makes Women Without Men, for all its outlandish moments, profoundly human -- Chris Power ― Observer
Powerful … Parsipur blends magical realism with the heightened drama of a fairy tale, inverting familiar tropes … As the layers of misogyny are peeled back, the work’s full force emerges -- Lucy Popescu ― Financial Times
Parsipur is one of Iran’s most celebrated living writers, and one of our boldest, most original feminists -- Dina Nayeri ― Guardian
Confronting, surreal and laced with Iranian mythology, Women Without Men sweeps you away in just over 100 pages. It is a defiant exploration of sexuality and identity through the interwoven lives of five women as they break free … and imagine a world beyond male control ― Service95
Gracefully brutal... Parsipur writes with the surface simplicity of a tale-teller. But she drops in prosaic, stinging touches of realism - of gossip, envy, suppressed thoughts and misunderstandings ― New York Review of Books
Using the techniques of both the fabulist and the polemicist, Parsipur continues her protest against traditional Persian gender relations in this charming, powerful novel ― Publishers Weekly
The feminist book that Iran’s regime has failed to silence since the 80s … The UK publication marks a hard-won return for a work that has outlasted bans, by a writer who has survived incarceration and forced displacement -- Hind Elhinnawy ― The Conversation
Parsipur is a courageous, talented woman, and above all, a great writer -- Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis
Women Without Men is the best feminist novel I know. It's thrilling, beautiful and hilarious, filled with weird women in transformation and the violent little men desperately trying to control them. I am convinced this novel is in fact a magic trick. Reading it feels like being invited to the rebellious unveiling of an age-old secret. It is both deeply mysterious and clear as water, filled to the brim with undeniable truth -- Johanne Lykke Holm
About the Author
Shahrnush Parsipur (Author)
Shahrnush Parsipur was born in Iran in 1946. She began her career as a writer of fiction and producer at Iranian National Television and Radio. She was imprisoned for nearly five years by the Islamist government without being formally charged. Shortly after her release, she published Women Without Men and was arrested and jailed again, this time for her frank and defiant portrayal of women’s sexuality.
While still banned in Iran, the novel became an underground best-seller there, and has been translated into many languages around the world. She is also the author of Touba and the Meaning of Night, among many other books, and now lives in exile in Northern California.
Faridoun Farrokh (Translator)
Faridoun Farrokh was born and educated in Iran, where he began a teaching career. As an academic, his research has focused on eighteenth-century English literature, contemporary Iranian fiction, as well as literary translation. His English language translation of Shahrnush Parsipur’s Women Without Men was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026.
