The Mismatch

A Novel

By: Sara Jafari

Narrated by: Ajjaz Awad, Afsaneh Dehrouyeh

Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A kiss is never just a kiss in The Mismatch, a cross-generational story about love, family, faith, and finding yourself.

“Enlightening, poignant, and romantic.... The Mismatch transported me back to that feeling of first love and first heartbreak.” (Sophie Cousens, New York Times best-selling author of This Time Next Year)

Now that Soraya Nazari has graduated from university, she thinks it’s time to get some of the life experience she feels she’s lacking, partly due to her strict upbringing - and Magnus Evans seems like the perfect way to get it.

Where she’s the somewhat timid, artistic daughter of Iranian immigrants, Magnus is the quintessential British lad. They have little in common, so there’s no way Soraya could ever fall for him. What’s the harm in having some fun as she navigates her postgrad life? And he could give her some distance from her increasingly complicated home life, where things are strained by her father’s struggles, her mother’s unhappiness, and her eldest sister’s estrangement under a vague cloud of shame 15 years earlier.

Distracting herself with Magnus is easy at first. But just as Soraya realizes there’s more to Magnus than she thought, long-buried secrets and hard questions begin to surface - will any of her relationships survive the truth coming out?

Moving between modern-day London and revolutionary Iran, The Mismatch is a gorgeously written coming-of-age story that follows a young woman as she finds love in a most unexpected place and a path in life amid two different cultures.

©2021 Sara Jafari (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A refreshing and engaging coming-of-age story centering a complex, relatable British Iranian woman straddling two worlds, and her search for identity, sense of self, and love juxtaposed against her mother’s own experiences navigating the societal expectations and familial pressures placed on young women in 1970s Iran. Sara Jafari is a compelling new voice in contemporary fiction.” (Lauren Ho, author of Last Tang Standing)

“Utterly gorgeous! The Mismatch is a smart, modern romance. I adored it.” (Abbie Greaves, author of The Silent Treatment)

"An entertaining, heartening coming-of-age tale about first love, clashing cultures and finding your place in the world. Jafari balances these varying elements of her novel with a deft hand...relevant, enlightening, and refreshing. A rewarding read.” (CultureFly, UK)

A modern love story we are so lucky to learn about

I greatly enjoyed listening to The Mismatch. The narration was spectacular, and the book is incredibly well written. It is always wonderful learning more about the intricacies of relationships, especially those that are multicultural, and the common threads we all share.

Beautiful Story

I couldn't stop listening to this book. the narration was excellent.
Grateful to have read this story, as the daughter of first generation iranian immigrants, this story hit home.