I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani

A poetic, open-hearted debut about an Iranian American boy searching for his place in the world—“exquisite, heartbreaking, incredibly beautiful" (Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water)

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley with his two brothers, all K wants is to be “a boy from LA”, all American. But K – the youngest, named after a Persian king – knows there’s something different about himself. Like the way he feels about his closest friend, Johnny, a longing that he can’t share with anyone around him. 

At home, K must navigate another confusing identity: that of the dutiful son of Iranian immigrants struggling to make a life for themselves in the United States. He tries to make his mother proud, live up to her ideal of a son. On Friday nights, K attends prayers at the local mosque with Baba, whose violent affections distort K’s understanding of what it means to be a man and how to love.

When Baba takes the three brothers from their mother back to Iran, K finds himself in an ancestral home he barely knows. Returning to the Valley months later, K must piece together who he is, in a world that now feels as foreign to him as the one he left behind.   

A stunning, tender novel of identity and belonging, I Will Greet the Sun Again tells the story of a young man lost in his own family, his own country, and his own skin. Staring down the brutality of being a queer kid and a Muslim in America, Khashayar J. Khabushani transforms personal and national pain into an unforgettable and beautifully rendered exploration of youth, love, family—and the stories that make us who we are.

Story Locale: Los Angeles (the Valley); Iran, New York

Khashayar J. Khabushani was born in Van Nuys, California, in 1992. During his childhood he spent time in Iran before returning to Los Angeles. He studied philosophy at California State University, Northridge, and prior to completing his MFA at Columbia University, he worked as a middle school teacher. This is his first novel.

Author Residence: San Francisco (Nob Hill)

Author Hometown: San Fernando Valley, California