This was a beautiful book about first love and how it can impact the rest of your life. In 1953 Tehran, teenagers Roya and Bahman meet in The Stationery Shop. He's a political activist while she's a straight-laced student but the star-crossed couple fall in love and get engaged. Not long after, Bahman disappears but asks Roya to meet him in a city square - when he never shows up, she has to start a life without him. Sixty years later and half a world away, Roya finally gets the chance to confront Bahman about why.

Kamali's prose is stunning. I loved the descriptions of life in Tehran and the customs there. The time-shifting of the story was less successful for me and I wish Bahman's history had been revealed in a different way. I guessed the reason behind Bahman's desertion but still thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

“The Stationary Shop” is a beautiful, bittersweet story about love, loss, family, and new beginnings. It uses one of my favorite literary tropes - jumping from present day to a far-off past in a far-off land - to build tension, give the reader insight into the decisions characters make, and tell a beautifully crafted story bursting with culture, history, and mouthwatering food. This is a must read.

4.5 ⭐ rounded up

This book reminded me of a Romeo and Juliet romance that spanned 60 years and took place in two different countries. As you gets to know Roya and Bahman you'll immediately be invested in their characters and your heart will break as they encounter impossible hurdles.

What I loved about this book:

I loved how forward thinking Roya and Zari's parents were and how they sacrificed so much so their girls could have the best life possible. As a parent I couldn't imagine how difficult their choices were and I was in awe of their selfless love for their daughters. In a time when women were more like property, they wanted more for their girls despite the criticism they received from family and friends.

I loved reading about the culture of Iran in the 1950s. It was a completely different than the country today and you learn a little bit of what lead to their current circumstances. I haven't read many books that take place in this seting/time period, but I'll definitely be adding them to my TBR. The description of all the food throughout this book definitely made me hungry and I'll be eating at a local Persian restaurant very soon.

While this is not your typical romance, it is definitely enjoyable. This is a clean romance that aligns with the customs of Iran in the 195os and I found the way a simple kiss was romanticized to be absolutely swoon worthy. There were some customs /rules I found to be heartbreaking and I shed a few tears for the characters involved.

What kept me from giving this one 5⭐?

I found this one to be more of a historical romance than a historical fiction. I actually love both genres so it was still enjoyable for me, but for some this may be a huge turn off.

The high ratings this book received made me anxious to read this book. I started reading and I wasn’t sure all the politics of Iran was going to be for me. I am so glad I stayed with this book because the story started developing and I couldn't stop reading. Of course, the background of Iran was an essential part of the story. Once I got to part 2 the story really picked up and I was hooked. A love that never died was the heart of this story no matter what happened in the lives of the couple. All the lies and deceptions were revealed to the couple after sixty plus years. The author did a great job depicting the time period and the country and I will highly recommend! #TheStationeryShop #NetGalley #MarjanKamali

This was stunning, a story rich in culture, love and wholly captivating characters. The storytelling is lush, the writing superb. I absolutely loved it.

A meditation on time, love, loss, and memory, this novel jumps between settings and time periods (Tehran, 1953 and New England 21st Century). While there are many provocative themes, The Stationery Shop is essentially a powerful love story exploring the enduring emotions of first love, lost and found. Descriptions of Tehran are especially alluring; author reveals an entire world that remains off limits to most due to decades of political upheaval. Will appeal to fans of Azar Nafisi and Marjane Satrapi. Full review on BookBrowse.

Ahh a wonderful love story. Complete with everything you would expect, a long lost love. I myself can relate and the book did prompt me to reach out to my long lost. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and the joy of reading this book.

Absolutely loved this beautifully written story of young love, political unrest, cultural traditions and family. In Teheran in the early 1950’s amidst threats from both the communists and the Shah’s supporters, Bahman and Roya meet in an old fashioned stationery shop. Roya’s family accepts Bahman, but his family has bigger plans for him. It is not fate but cruelty which intervenes, and as you know from the beginning of the book, you know the pair is separated. What happens during the intervening years will keep you turning the pages. Highly recommend.

4 and 1/2 stars

A young Iranian couple fall in love in the 1950's during their visits to a stationery shop in Tehran. They become engaged, but are cruelly separated by the young man's deranged mother.

This love story initially sounds like a Persian An Affair to Remember taking place during the political unrest in Iran in the 1950’s. Young sweethearts Roya and Bahman miss their planned meeting, and their lives are changed forever. The explanation slowly unfolds in flashback as we catch up with Roya decades later. On one level, the story is sweet and romantic, but on another it’s frustrating. I kept wanting any of the people in either family to have the initiative and gumption to investigate a little more at the time—or at the very least to demand an in-person explanation. There is a strong reliance on coincidence, which I guess is the only way the story could have an ending, but which still strained credulity. I still enjoyed the story and wished that the protagonists had had more time together.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance digital review copy.

This was a solidly good book that I unfortunately just don't have a lot to say about. It really takes you through the gamut of emotions and tugs at the heartstrings. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested!

This book is a great example of why I love reading historical fiction. There are the big not uncommon themes of star-crossed love, family loyalty, class, political, and cultural differences. Been there, read that. But the setting of Iran in 1953, during the overthrowing of the Prime Minister was new to me. I was captivated by the vivid descriptions: the sights, scents and food of Iran and the plight of the characters.

A heartbreaking story of love, loss, and healing. Readers will be drawn into Roya and Bahman's romance.

Thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for this phenomenal ebook!

Occasionally a book comes along and leaves an imprint on your heart. The “Stationery Shop” is one of those. It is a book of falling in love despite tradition, but being pulled away because of that same tradition, and the need to make amends for past choices.

The accidental love found on Tuesday afternoons by Roya and Bahman in Mr. Fakhri’s shop in Tehran was ultimately torn apart by a past secret by Bachman’s mother and Mr. Fakhri, but the sheer force of their first love stays with them until the end.

Although Roya and Bahman did not live the life together they dreamed of, their duty to family and staying true to their future spouses made this book stand out among others.

I loved the entwining of Roya and Bahman’s stories and the final reconciliation of their love for each other despite the betrayal that tore them apart.

I truly enjoyed this book, and also how a picture of Iranian traditions, political upheaval was portrayed.

The “here’s the ending, now how’d we get here” kind of structure doesn’t always work but I think it was employed brilliantly here because it made me more invested in seeing the story through. The characters were easy to root for, the relationships were each unique and real, and the setting was beautifully rendered.

The backslide of the secular movement in Iran leading up to the Islamic Revolution is one of the more interesting, underutilized historical backdrops. I really enjoyed hearing more about a topic I’m a near novice on.

The only thing that bugged me but that I guess I can chalk up to the era was how easily Roya and Bahman accepted certain things. Don’t want to spoil it but I could see that twist coming and I kept wondering why they never just trusted their connection and verified.

Highly recommended book for 2019 everyone! This isn’t your daughter’s YA—ok, not JUST your daughter’s YA. The heartstrings tugged are ones I discovered reading this story.

The Stationary Shop is an incredibly vivid written novel about first loves, family, and cultural expectations in 1953 Tehran. ⁣⁣⁣
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Roya and Bachman meet at their local Stationary Shop, and instantly fall in love. During their whirlwind romance, their country is in the midst of major political turmoil. It is during this turmoil that their relationship changes forever. ⁣⁣⁣
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The story follows Roya and Bahman over the next 70 years of their perspective lives. It shows that true love stands the test of time. I enjoyed how we got to see how both of their lives played out, all while feeling the pain from both of their stories. This novel was incredible. ⁣⁣⁣
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I was completely invested in the story, and was deviated when it was over. If you are a fan of historical romance stories, this one is for you! ⁣⁣

When I first picked up The Stationery Shop, a review of it had compared it to Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Having read both of those, I think I loved The Stationery Shop even more. The way Marjan Kamali constructed relationships in this novel is truly remarkable; she uses the local stationery shop a hub, a meeting place where people can meet freely, where sensitive information can come and go without fear of judgement. Roya and Bahman's story will stay with me for a long time. Get on a waiting list for this one now -- it's worth the wait!

The Stationery Shop is the 60 year love story of Roya and Bahman. But this isn't just any love story, it is also about how destiny can be altered by others. The story starts in Tehran on 1953 and ends in Massachusetts in 2013. Roya and Bahman meet in the Stationery Shop in Tehran on a Tuesday afternoon and a few short months later they are engaged to be married. These 17 year olds believe that they have destinies to be together. During the August 1953 coup to oust the Iranian Prime Minister, their world is crushed.

One month later Bahman is married and a year later Roya is studying chemistry in California. Over the next sixty years they have lives filled with love and tragedy but they never stop thinking about each other. One day Roya finds Bahman again and just wants to ask him one question.

It is easy to be cynical and say they are 17 what do they know of love but this is a beautiful story. One of the great things are the sub characters in the story. While none of them are the main characters they are all very nicely developed that you do not feel them to be superfluous. There are the characters that you love and the ones that you hate but all of these characters surprise you and can leave you conflicted. Kamali did a great job of revealing information as needed in order effect the reader's feelings through out the story.

I loved the setting as I was not at all familiar with this time in Iran, the revolution you hear about is the 1970s one. If you are a literary fiction fan or a historical fiction fan definitely give this book a read.

What would you say, if you caught up with the first love of your life after sixty years? In this story, what the two long lost lovers say definitely is extraordinary.

The writing is very rich in detail, especially when talking about food. The characters are shown in different times and different places, the threads of the narration weaving a picture for the reader. The ending surprises, not just our minds, but also our hearts and tear ducts.

What struck me was the vigilance, with which the characters fight through all problems in their way. Their family, the bitter mother in-law, the shah, the violence, the censorship, the new environment they were forced into. Their flaws make them utterly believable. If they were just able to put two and two together at the right time… but that wouldn’t have made quite as spectacular a story.