Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

10 reviews

qirhh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

It’ll leave you feeling bittersweet yet content. You’ll understand that what’s not meant to be has already been written in our fate, and what’s meant to be will always find its way to us. 

I love this book so very much. It will be on my mind for a while. I will look up the history of Iran and its people. I will think of Roya and Bahman and the people alike when I search it up. I will be reminded of not just the Iran-Iraq war, but the past world wars and the current ones. It will remind me of why I like to pick historical books though they are mostly of tragic stories yet there is always a lesson to learn from them. 

This book will be in my heart forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and War

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War

777elia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

The writing style of this book was absolutely beautiful. The author could repeat the same details over and still add nuance and renew the same feelings I felt when first reading the event. I thought when the plot was revealed in the first chapter that this book wouldn't surprise me much but my god it did. Some moments were gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking and others filled with so much love. I couldn't put this book down it kept drawing me in. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a powerful love story that withstands the test of time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

cielo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

sydneywhite's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault and Blood

Minor: Chronic illness

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.

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

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Content Warnings

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

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A couple months back, I found The Stationery Shop on the shelves of my local used bookstore. The cover was so stunningly beautiful that I picked it up without really knowing what it was about. Lucky for me, it is mostly a historical fiction set in Iran with some romance mixed in. The book follows Roya and Bahman as they witness political protests, attempted coups, and eventually fall in love with each other. 

First of all, I really loved the way the author brought Iran to life. The setting is almost a character of its own as it is so present and involved in the plotline. I could fully imagine the stationery shop, the markets, and everything in between. It reminded me a lot of some of my own travels in the Middle East and I absolutely loved that sense of nostalgia from the reading. 

Additionally, I loved Roya as a main character. She is clever, opinionated, and knows what she wants. She is a good daughter to her family and a loyal partner to Bahman when they fall in love. I felt a rapport with her immediately and continued to feel it throughout. 

I also enjoyed the way the story was split between past and present. Sometimes when there is a split timeline in stories, one timeline is stronger than the other. That is not the case here. I loved both timelines and love the way the two timelines eventually come together. 

My only real critique of the book is that the main source of conflict could've been so easily resolved. I won't give details here as I don't want to spoil the book, but suffice it to say, that you can't think about the conflict too deeply or it creates a bit of a hole in the story. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it without reservation to anyone who likes historical fiction and romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

library_of_wonder's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

This book made me wanna try Persian food

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Suicide attempt

nevermindthefall's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.75

well it was a great reading. unfortunately i read this book in russian translation and it has some flaws. it doesn’t affect the storytelling or understanding of the plot but left me with strange taste in my mouth, so my review is kind of a trigger warning for those who’ll decide to read the book in russian 
overall the book depicts tehran in the 50s, it’s beautiful culture and complicated history. 100% recommend reading 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, and Abortion

the book will hit you with teenage boy and teenage girl relationship, the girl is 14 and the boy is older (don’t remember his age). their relationship went kinda explicit though there is no graphic description of it. just be aware

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Terminal illness and Abortion