The Island of Stability: and Other Stories

Two couples prepare for a simple dinner. The hosts, Maziar and Lisa Afshari, do some last-minute tidying of their mansion in the Pacific Palisades. Their guests, Cyrus and Shireen Ghorbani, contemplate whether or not they should bring a pastry. For both couples, appearance is crucial. A few days prior, the Americanized 15-year-old son of the Afsharis called the immigrant son of the Ghorbanis a racial slur at school. What begins as a cordial, peacemaking dinner between two Iranian-American couples slowly spirals into petty bickering and a heated debate over the past and future of Iran.

This darkly satirical debut novella from award-winning filmmaker Omid Iranikhah is accompanied by three short stories that illuminate the complexity of Iranian diaspora life in the 21st century.