Imperfect, by Katy Motiey, tells the story of Vida, a young Iranian mother, and how the life she expected is upended with her  husband’s sudden death.

Her in-laws decide to claim her children under traditional Islamic law, and in the 1970s Iran, it’s unclear whether modern laws or traditional laws will win out, and with all the social upheaval at that time, what even is modern any more? The whole experience is tense because it seems ridiculous that her husband’s family would even think about separating young children from their mother, their only living parent. But, in such a patriarchal society where the father’s family can lay claim to the kids, insisting even before the funeral that Vida will remarry, how could a single woman defend herself and her children?

Historic upheaval happens in Iran around Vida’s family story. Political and social changes form the backdrop of the novel, except when they intersect with her very personal struggle. She’d been living a very different life in the US, and she didn’t even particularly want to return to Iran when her husband originally suggested it, but now, while the custody is in dispute, she’s trapped in Iran because she can’t take her own children abroad.

I was very interested in the court case over the children, because there was a surprising mix of typical courtroom drama and Iranian-style guanxi in settling the dispute. The conflict lasts for years, as the judge gives temporary custody and lawyers make their cases, but a lot of it is decided by family relations and social connections. Vida must keep her reputation pure, since her in-laws will use anything against her. She must provide for her children, but their inheritance is controlled by her in-laws. It’s a confusing and complicated situation, but Vida’s exactly the heroine to solve it.

There are complicated relationships throughout Imperfect. Vida’s own mother divorced her father when Vida was very young, and that serves as both a positive model for independence in a male-dominated world, and a anxious look at maternal abandonment for the adult Vida. She tries — like we all do, really —  to emulate her mother’s best characteristics only. Without revealing too much of the plot, as the story goes on, her cross-cultural friendships and eventually a new romance reveal new sides of Vida, and show the complicated, layered characters around her.

Imperfect is a character-driven story, which also offers a look at historical events in Iran and invites readers to consider what they would do in Vida’s situation.