Things Left Unsaid

Two former friends reconnect as adults in this perceptive literary romance from Jafari (People Change). It’s been 10 years since British Iranians Shirin Bayat and Kian Rahimi last saw each other, following a blowout at their school in northern England, where they were the only nonwhite students. Now in their mid-20s, they run into each other at a London house party hosted by mutual friends. In alternating threads, Jafari explores how Shirin, now an editor at a publishing house, faces an onslaught of racist microaggressions and is upset to learn that one of her former school bullies, a racist comedian, has landed a major book deal with another publisher. Meanwhile Kian, a painter who’s planning to leave for New York City on a one-year fellowship, still harbors guilt over his role in his older brother’s imprisonment for assault. Flashbacks reveal how Shirin deflected Kian’s advances when they were in school, for fear of losing their friendship. Now, as Shirin and Kian attempt dating, they struggle with whether a long-term relationship could make them stronger or hold them back from fulfilling their ambitions. Jafari convincingly conveys Shirin’s shattered self-worth and Kian’s crippling guilt. Sally Rooney fans will savor this. Agent: Katie Greenstreet, Paper Literary. (Apr.)