A review by busyblackbookworm
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

I wouldn’t normally call myself a romance reader—I don’t know why, but I often struggle to get into them. So when I heard about The Stationery Shop, a book that considers young love against the backdrop of political unrest in 1950s Iran, I was excited to dive in.

I appreciated the ways in which Kamali depicted the trials and triumphs of daily life unfolding all while one’s country descends into sociopolitical chaos—falling in love can be complicated and weird and messy even in the best of circumstances, but what happens when you throw in political violence and unrest? And I think there’s a lot to be said here about the roles that parents play in the lives of their children—there’s the question of what we owe our parents, and what our parents owe us. 

I did feel that the writing style left a bit to be desired—I would’ve loved to see a bit more of Roya beyond her desires to be with Bahman, and conversely I felt by the end of the book I knew next to nothing about Bahman himself—beyond his desires to “change the world,” who really is he and what does Roya actually find compelling about him? And perhaps this is one of the reasons I was a bit perplexed as to how Roya and Bahman, who fell into a whirlwind romance at only 17, continued to pine for each other over the course of 6 decades, well after both of them married others and had children of their own.

Nevertheless, I found myself hoping that Roya and Bahman would somehow find their way back to each other.

Anyway, I think this is might be a solid book for people who don’t generally vibe with most traditional romance books but are looking for something with romance involved--and for those who enjoy historical fiction.
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