Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

28 reviews

areen's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

towards the end the story really takes shape and I realized this really wasn't about our mcs and their lovestory but

badri and fakhri's and how bc of their mistakes and decisions, our mcs had to go through the same "fate", except it really wasn't fate... sighs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Grief, Classism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Sexism, and War

coolusernamepending's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

While the novel was well plotted and the story had an ending that made sense for the narrative, I personally found it difficult to immerse myself in the story and in the characters. I have no problem with simplistic writing, but oftentimes Kamali's writing too straightforward and left little room for the readers to form their own interpretations and observations. In particular, we learn little about the nuances of Roya and Bahman's personalities, and they can easily be summed up in one to two sentences. The story itself would work much better for something like a TV show with its jumping perspectives and dramatic events; I just didn't really like it as a novel.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Violence, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Grief and Child death

anniika's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abortion

Moderate: Grief, Child death, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Police brutality

jackyy93's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“For Roya Joon, my love. May you always be happy and may all your days be filled with beautiful words.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion and Police brutality

zosiablue's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I've inadvertently read a romance and I'm not mad about it. This was about those young loves you never recover from, in the backdrop of 1950s Iran's political unrest. It was aching and sweet and sad. I've been lucky to be in love several times, some I keep waiting to recover from, and maybe the not recovering is the point. It sure was in this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Murder, Death, Police brutality, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Abortion

katonthejellicoe's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

tier: liked it a lot

this book was filled with melancholy, nostalgia, and love that could never be forgotten. i didn't cry (tho i was certain i would) but it caused a pang of pain on my chest for so many reasons.

(thirteen hours after i've read this book...)

this was perfectly written — from the characters and their complex personalities and dynamics to the atmospheric setting to its seamless timeline. it was accessible yet poetic in its own way. the historical and romance aspects of it intertwined smoothly with one another which made it a well-balanced novel.

objectively, this is a five-star book. it was probably the best historical fiction i've read in a while. but as you all know, i NEED to cry in books (lols). hence, from personal experience, it wasn't a favorite but it was almost there. in numbers, this may very well be a 4.95 out of 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, and Police brutality

Minor: Child death, Death, and Abortion

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I picked this up as part of a Patreon book club selection. 
“The Stationary Shop” follows a woman named Roya throughout the majority of her life. As a teenager, she seeks refuge from her war torn country in Mr. Fakhri’s stationary shop. One afternoon, she meets Bahman and they instantly bond over their love for Rumi. When they are driven apart, they continue to communicate via letters they leave each other in books in the stationary shop. Unfortunately, on the day they are set to reunite disaster strikes, and they never hear from one another again. Now, decades later, Roya is living her life in America with her loving husband and now grown children. She is quietly content, until she learns that Bahman is not too far from her. Will she finally be able to get the answers from him that she needs?
This book will simultaneously break your heart and make you believe in love again. Roya and Bahman’s love is so pure and you want with all of your soul for them to be together. You are enraged at their circumstance and heartbroken to read about their country falling apart. I really loved seeing them profess their love, adoration, and hope for one another through letters. Writing is slowly becoming a last art and seeing a love story play out in this way was incredible. 
The writing itself in this novel is beautiful. Marjan Kamali is an immensely talented author. Once I started this book, I devoured it within 24 hours because I needed to see Roya and Bahman have their redemption as well as I was continually in awe of the prose. 
I also really enjoyed reading about the politics of Tehran in such an approachable way. There is so much turmoil that occurred in this country and it was interesting as a reader to see the revolution that was brewing in 1953, but not have it take away for the story. The discussions about the corrupt leadership and violence told through an innocent citizen’s life were humbling. 
Marjan Kamali has quickly become a new favorite author and I look forward to reading more of their books in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Death, War, Violence, and Grief

schausjk's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Gore, Mass/school shootings, War, Violence, Abortion, Sexism, Colonisation, Police brutality, and Racism

Minor: Pregnancy, Infertility, Blood, and Cancer

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this absolutely wrecked me. i cried in public reading this. 

it was so enlightening on the tribulations many Iranian people faced during that time. i felt my heart break when the characters faced grief and loss, which is hard for an author to achieve. 

i would recommend this 1000%, please just check trigger warnings!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Miscarriage, War, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Violence, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, Abortion, Death, Classism, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, and Infertility

Minor: War, Dementia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry