*** If you read The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and enjoyed The Beekeeper of Aleppo, you will love The Stationery Shop of Tehran ***
1953, Tehran. Roya loves nothing better than to while away the hours in the local stationery shop run by Mr. Fakhri. The store, stocked with fountain pens, shiny ink bottles, and thick pads of writing paper, also carries translations of literature from all over the world. And when Mr. Fakhri introduces her to his other favorite customer -- handsome Bahman, with his burning passion for justice and a shared love for Rumi's poetry -- Roya loses her heart at once. But around them, life in Tehran is changing.
On the eve of their marriage, Roya heads to the town square to meet with Bahman. Suddenly, shockingly, violence erupts: a coup d'etat that forever changes their country's future. Bahman never arrives.
Roya must piece her life back together. Her parents, wanting her to be safe, enroll her in college in California, where she meets and marries another man. But, nearly sixty years later, an accident of fate finally brings her the answer she has always wanted to know - Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?
Marjan Kamali's beautiful novel, set in a country poised for democracy but destroyed by political upheaval, explores issues that have never been more timely, of immigration and cultural assimilation, of the quirks of fate. And its ending will break readers' hearts.
About the Author
Marjan Kamali, born in Turkey to Iranian parents, spent her childhood in Kenya, Germany, Turkey, Iran, and the United States. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Columbia University, and New York University. Her work has also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in two anthologies: Tremors and Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been. An excerpt from The Stationery Shop was published in Solstice Literary Magazine and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut novel Together Tea was a Massachusetts Book Award Finalist, an NPR WBUR Good Read, and a Target Emerging Author Selection. Marjan lives with her husband and two children in the Boston area.
Industry Reviews
‘Kamali paints an evocative portrait of 1950s Iran and its political upheaval, and she cleverly writes the heartbreak of Roya and Bahman’s romance to mirror the tragic recent history of their country. Simultaneously briskly paced and deeply moving, this will appeal to fans of Khaled Hosseini and should find a wide audience’
BOOKLIST
‘Evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful … explores love’s power to transcend time and distance, and the ways fate can tear people apart and bring them back together. This book broke my heart again and again’
Whitney Scharer, author of THE AGE OF LIGHT
‘What a pleasure — a novel that is all at once masterfully plotted, beautifully written, and populated by characters who are arresting, lovable and so real’
Elinor Lipman, author of TURPENTINE LANE
‘A beautiful and sensitive novel that I loved from the first page’
Alyson Richman, international bestselling author of THE LOST WIFE
‘A beautifully immersive tale … brings to life a lost and complex world and the captivating characters who once called it home’
Jasmin Darznik, New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD DAUGHTER and SONG OF A CAPTIVE BIRD
‘A sweeping romantic tale of thwarted love’
KIRKUS REVIEWS
‘The unfurling stories … will stun readers as the aromas of Persian cooking wafting throughout convince us that love can last a lifetime. For those who enjoy getting caught up in romance while discovering unfamiliar history of another country’
LIBRARY JOURNAL
‘Grab your tissues… Set among the political upheaval of 1950s Tehran, The Stationery Shop follows teenager Roya as she discovers the power of love, loss, and then, decades later, fate.
BOSTON MAGAZINE
‘A tender story of enduring love.’
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
‘I! Am! Obsessed! With! This! Book!’
COSMOPOLITAN.COM
