With its twenty short stories, A Fall Afternoon in the Park invites the reader deep into the interior worlds of Iranian women living in both Iran and Canada.

In “Rainy Day,” a little girl longs for a doll with golden hair; in “Adopted Child,” a successful business professional delays having a baby but then discovers a secret; an educated woman finds herself cleaning the home of a wealthy, illiterate woman to pay the bills in the story “Adam”; and, in the titular story, a family is divided (literally) when the mother loses her job and they must make difficult decisions about their future.

In these varied, compelling snapshots of family, friendship, culture, tradition, discrimination, class issues, and struggle, Mehri Yalfani offers glimpses into the challenges and joys of immigrants? and refugees? lived experiences in the Canadian diaspora.