Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s newest novel, 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔, brings us into the mind of Arezu, a young Iranian-American woman who has returned to Spain to confront the ghost of her traumatic past. Manipulated into having an affair at 18 years old with her father’s 40-year-old step-nephew, Omar, Arezu must now contend with the fallout of that crippling summer

We speak with Azareen about this soul-stirring, complex novel that watches one’s inner struggle to find peace and healing while dealing with the intersectionality of race, identity, politics, and the power of patriarchy and privilege.