Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - De boekhandel van Teheran

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

De boekhandel van Teheran by Marjan Kamali

41 reviews

lomesia's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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taliabasma's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Idk the book was good but bad lol. The writing was poignant and I don’t love time jumps but this one was very well done. (

But we really did not at all need Claire’s pov

)

The best way to describe this is, the fault in our stars was sad on purpose while a walk to remember was a story with sadness. And idk this book felt like it was sad on purpose.

We don’t really get to know Bahman nor Roya’s full personality. They just had a young love but there wasn’t much depth to their characters nor their relationship outside of the missed factor.

I also think this book is actually about Bahman’s mom and her life more than anyone else to be honest and it could be a good thing if they gave her character a LITTLE bit more depth.

If you hate miscommunication this is basically a back and forth novel with a purposeful and manipulative miscommunication.

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doublel11's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No

1.25

I wanted to like this book. I love Iran and the Persian language and culture. But this book, it started out pretty boring and the love story wasn't convincing. Why did they love each other? I'm still not sure. Are we just supposed to accept that they were 17 and fell in love at the drop of a hat?

Once we finally got to the big reveals at the end, I was quite disappointed. It all amounted to being the evil mother-in-law trope, which is a misogynistic writing choice in my opinion. I already knew that's what had happened, but the way Kamali made Badri so hysterical and evil was over the top.

Kamali didn't't need to remind the reader after more than 5 mentions that Nowruz is the Persian new year and first day of Spring. If the reader doesn't remember after 2 or 3 mentions, that's on them.

Last rant, you don't have 2 stillbirths and then lose a baby at 8 months pregnant. That is also a still birth. That's 3 stillbirths. Writing like that is idiotic and why dumbass Republicans think it's possible to just have a late-term abortion for personal reasons. You have to deliver a baby that late in the term, no way around it.

On a positive note, this book made me miss Farsi and now I want to get back into reading the language and watching films, etc.

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angada's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

So powertul.

So moving.

So beautifully written!

Your heart will be broken and your box of tissues will be empty.

I had to physically stop reading for a bit because my heart couldn't take it anymore.

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hmwoodward's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.0

This beautifully written and beautifully read book (listened to the audiobook on this one) follows two young people who fell hopelessly in love

and lost each other along the way

in Iran amidst political instability in the 1950s. You primarily follow the story through the eyes of the female main character, Roya, via 3rd person. She's a smart girl who loves books, learning about American culture, and who is on the fringe of politics thanks to her father and her love interest. You get to watch her and her family grow from her teen years through her senior years, seeing how her past follows her, no matter how far away from it she really is.

I read this one per a bookstagramer recommendation, even though historical fiction is not my jam - especially after how long and sad the last one I read was. But, the book was great and I would definitely recommend it - just keep the content warnings in mind.

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erinkellyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Easily, this is in the running for best book of the year for me, if not best book of the last few years. The writing is stunning, the characters are complicated and nuanced, and the story is heartfelt and heartbreaking. If this isn't on your TBR, it should be.

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