Another good one for me. Overall this book took me on a journey that I was so glad to be apart of. The struggle and uncertainty pulled me in and kept me there for the entire length and I was sad to see it end. The author painted such a vivid picture in my mind and I didnt want it to end.

This book made me cry, and cry some more. It's an absolutely stunning work set in 1950's Tehran about love and loss, heartbreak, and finding yourself.

I liked this book, but did not love it. I was totally pulled in wanting to know why he’d left her standing in the square. It moved a little slowly for me, though, and parts required too much suspension of disbelief.

This book dives back and forth between generations and lost loves to struggle with the idea of a class system and who are we allowed to love and to marry. I found it touching that a love could last for 60 years without additional nourishment. There is a pang near the end of the book when we see how others interfered and tried to help with their relationship. I'm glad there was a sense of closure to their relationship although real life seldom seems to work that way. An interesting book with many vivid descriptions of Tehran in the 1950s.

The Stationery Shop is a testament to the endearing qualities of love and relationships -- a reminder that love is complicated, and that first loves are not easily forgotten. Written with honesty through the lens of flashback, Kamali creates a very real sense of yearning and hope despite hardship and uncertainty. Kamali's historical fiction is a lovely escape into Persian culture and is a celebration of the moments that make us human.

Roya lives in Iran with her pro-Mossadegh family. Encouraged to embrace a modern philosophy, Roya attends high school and attempts to avoid the tensions between growing political factions in 1950s Tehran. A lover of novels, Roya finds solace in the stationery shop of Mr. Fakhri. A chance meeting of Bahman Alsan, will change Roya's world as she knows it. Passionate and kind, Bahman will become the man that opens Roya's eyes to the world and will spark memories of her youth decades later.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars on GR (but mostly for editing issues, not the writing)

Kamali's "The Stationery Shop" offers a "first-hand" (albeit through fictional characters) glimpse into the events and experiences of the people surrounding the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat (of which I didn't know much until I read up on it as I read this book), which was what originally drew me to this book. I love historical fiction, and in particular, books that explore periods of history not typically written about in historical fiction (i.e., the King Henry era, WWI and II).

While I thoroughly enjoyed Kamali's descriptions of life in Tehran, her juxtaposition of Iranian culture to American culture and the budding romance between a young activist and a young woman, I found myself wishing there was more of this in later parts of the book. Once our main character, Roya, moves to the U.S., heartbroken and in the hopes of realizing her father's dream of becoming a scientist, there seems to be a drop off in any further character development of Roya, her sister Zari and even their respective love interest (i.e., it seems that she completely gives up any hope of becoming something other than a secretary after landing the B-school job. Does she really just give up on motherhood and her marriage as well after losing Marigold? What about the relationship between the sisters after Zari comes to visit from California after Marigold's death?) It seems as if a huge chunk of the book is edited out as we jump from the early years of Walter and Roya's young marriage after college to *60 years later.* Kind of big jump there folks. After Roya loses her first daughter, Marigold, to croup at the tender age of 1, we pretty much go right into Roya reuniting with Bahman 60 years later in a matter of a couple short chapters. And from there, the book seems to tumble quite quickly to the closing chapters as Roya and Bahman reconnect on his death bed.

The side stories of Claire (nursing care assistant), Mrs. Aslan (Bahman's mother) and Mr. Fakhri (stationery shop owner), while interesting, could have benefitted quite from a bit more development, even if it added another 100 pages. The reader is left wondering why they're included when they really don't add to the story (particularly Claire), except to provide a motive for Mr. Fakhri to change the love letters and then rush to the square to help Roya find Bahman. Indeed, the rush-job in explaining Mrs. Aslan and Mr. Fakhri, is so underdeveloped, it becomes glaringly obvious that the plotline is going to lead to the mixed up letters, and so loses its narrative efficacy.

On balance, while I loved Kamali's writing (with the exception of a her habit of repeating the character's thoughts/concerns in quite a few places--again could be an editing issue), I felt a few issues could have been addressed to tighten the book up: (1) Edit out some of the redundancies; (2) Fill in the gaps--develop the time between the loss of Marigold and reconnecting with Bahman; (3) Flesh out the story of the mixed letters at the end; (4) Edit out the back story of Claire --which comes quite abruptly after we spend a lot of chapters on Roya and Bahman in Tehran, so much so that I spent the first few pages of that chapter trying to remember who Claire was; (5) Flesh out or drop the side story of Bahman's mother and Mr. Fakhri, i.e., why does Fakhri feel that he is directly to blame for Mrs. Aslan's mental health issues? Besides the fact that he left her impregnated and to deal with the unwanted pregnancy on her own (it's not clear whether he even knew about the pregnancy at the time), it seems quite a jump that she becomes suicidal 20+ years from the abortion.

I applaud Ms. Kamali and this is a solid effort. I loved the topic, the characters and the history of Iran. I do think, however, that better editing could have taken this book to the next level.

An emotional moving novel.Tehran in the 1950s the lives culture families of this place and time. An emotional moving novel an author I look forward to reading more from.#netgalley#gallerybooks,

A very well written book. I could not put it down! Marjan Kamali invites you to experience what it was like in 1950s Tehran and experience the tensions, culture and everyday life. I will be definitely reading her earlier book.

Yes, this book is technically a romance, but what I loved the most was how it opened my eyes to the Iranian culture, to the complexity of living in a land constantly in political upheaval. For the first time, my heart identified and ached for a generation of people I had never truly concerned myself with before.

I loved the simple parts too— the food and customs, the smells, the taarof extreme politeness and small talk, the deeper meaning conveyed in conversation through the Farsi language, even the rallies and seeing the extreme divisions of political opinion.

At first I’ll admit it was only those things I enjoyed; Roya’s romance and story itself I wasn’t that invested in, but as she grew older and all the different POVs and time jumps worked to write a fuller and broader story than just Roya’s, I grew more and more engaged in the story. And it was Roya and her new eyes in taking in California and America and later her grief in losing her daughter Marigold that captured my heart. It was Bahman and his letters that made me mourn for everything that had happened in his country, the disappointment in fighting for a cause and seeing it destroyed. (And, wow, just read a little on the history of the 1953 Iranian coup d’etat, and see if your heart doesn’t ache as an American over our involvement in the coup.)

But… there were some parts I was uncomfortable with in this book and didn’t enjoy. Roya still loving Bahman while married to Walter, or the fact that every book published now days feels as if it needs a gay side character or Mr. Fakhri’s 1916 POVs that were rather uncomfortable to read, to say the least. So, I’m grateful for this book in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I wasn’t 100% comfortable with all the content. Four stars for the way it drew me in.

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for promotional purposes from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

I'm not a very emotional person--I'm usually left dry eyed when others are sobbing over books all around me--but this novel gutted me in the very best way possible. I am wowed by The Stationery Shop.

The story of Roya and Bahman begins when they are teenagers in 1953 in Tehran. The two fall in love, meeting in secret at the Stationery Shop. They become engaged, although the political upheaval around them and family demands threaten to tear them apart. The two decide to marry anyway, but when Roya goes to meet Bahman for their wedding, he doesn't show up. The story then moves forward--through the 1950s, into 2013--as we trace Roya's life, which has the mystery of Bahman's rejection constantly dangling over it. In 2013, they meet again in the United States, where Roya settled.

The details in this novel are exquisite. Kamali has a light touch--never does the story feel weighed down--but she paints a rich portrait of what life was like in Iran in the 1950s, with the foods, the smells, the customs. The setting is as beautifully drawn as the characters. Kamali also includes the Iranian politics of the time in an incredibly seamless manner. The upheaval plays a large part in the story but doesn't weigh it down. (In 1953, Iran was on the brink of revolution as the Shah was in power but in direct conflict with Prime Minister Mosaddegh, all the while a Communist faction looked to gain a foothold in the government.)

This novel, which I read courtesy of NetGalley, is one I didn't want to end. The images are haunting, the story both heart-breaking and uplifting. It's a story of love and family and the things we give up and the losses we deal with. I am now eager to search out more books that take place in Iran. In the meantime, I can say that though the year has only just begun, this will absolutely be one of the best books of 2019.