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Genres linked with this book
  1. Contemporary
  2. Romance

The Stationery Shop of Tehran

Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink. Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran. A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on—to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England—until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?
Recent ratings for this book on Bookelphia
 
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3 Ratings
Manali Deshpande Reviewed on: 28-03-2021

Beautiful

Jaya Shravan Reviewed on: 18-03-2021
Poignant love story of two star-crossed teens

#bookreview #nospoilers . The Stationery Shop of Tehran - Marjan Kamali . I am somehow drawn to these titles. I have read so many books like these which have titles like - The Coffee shop in Kabul, The bookshop on the Seine, The Guernsey literary potato peel society, The breakfast club, etc and so on. . Most of these books end up being light reads, something in the romance genre, which can be devoured in a single afternoon. This book was not exactly light, it was poignant set in the 1950s Tehran when the coup d’état took place in Iran, changing the course of the country’s history for ever. The story is of two star-crossed lovers who are unable to forget each other decades after they fell in love one sticky summer in Tehran. Kind of like an Iranian version of the movie - 96. . I managed to read this book over the course of four solid hours. The book tells the story of Bahman and Roya, both 17, as they fall madly in love with one another and of the circumstances that cause them to never see each other until nearly 60 years later. What transpired? Who was responsible? I did enjoy the tidbits of woven interconnections between the characters that were revealed along the story. This was a wonderful read, quick paced, easy prose, set with the backdrop of real-life events. Recommended. . As always, thanks to @bookelphia for sourcing this book at my request. . Rating - 4.2/5