Friday, July 24, 2020

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

Amy  

historical fiction

The Stationery Shop told of the lives of Roya and Bahman. They met in Tehran, Iran in 1953 at a local stationery shop, fell quickly in love, and prepared to marry.  But in the midst of political upheaval, the two were torn apart to lead different lives due to tragic interference.  Sixty years later, they meet again and learn of each others’ pasts.

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story by Marjan Kamali full of vivid characters and well-drawn historical settings in Iran and the United States.  The book brought out so many emotions while I read it.  Joy, confusion, heartache (and I shed plenty of tears!), grief, and hope. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It gave me a bit of education about Iran’s recent history which I also really appreciated.  The story jumped around across the timeline a bit but I thought it was perfectly crafted.  The pacing was just right. 

The audiobook narrator, Mozhan Marno, was terrific.  She was definitely the right narrator for this novel. I give her an A+! She had a repertoire of voices and her acting was superb. 


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