Reviews with content warning for War - The Lion Women of Tehran

This was such a great read! I didn't know what to expect since I read the back of this book two months ago. I loved how Kamali (author) took us through the history of Ellie and Homa that lasted six decades of their lives. The history of which also discuss the real life history of Iran's fear, repression, and abuse of the women of the country. Unfortunately, this continues today. I loved how Homa and her unrelentless fight for the women of Iran. Ellie's role reflects what happens when you doubt what and who your real friends are. Her story is bit less clear cut in her intentions however by the end the focus is more sharpen and clearly defined. This book similar to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - reflects the morphing of friendships and circuitous paths it can take before it returns home. This is a very worthy read.

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mamagriff's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative 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

5.0

A powerful historical fiction novel about life, religion & political divisions in Tehran from 1950s through 2022.

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courtney_scott1025's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A little more lighthearted than I typically like to read, but a beautiful book nonetheless. What an inspiring story and it gave me a lot of insight on Iranian politics that I didn’t know much about.

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erinn_wilkins's review

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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? Yes

5.0

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blueberrydahlia's review

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challenging emotional hopeful informative 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? Yes

4.0

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pomoevareads's review

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adventurous emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

A beautiful and heartrending story of the strength of female friendship, women’s rights and activism in Tehran set against the backdrop of the revolution.

Kamali has written some special characters in The Lion Women of Tehran. Ellie and Homa meet as seven year old girls in Tehran’s downtown where Ellie and her mother have had to move because of a change to their financial situation. Ellie is envious of the close knit family of Homa and wishes she could be part of their family. Her own mother, comes across as selfish and snobbish and doesn’t allow Ellie to invite her new friend Homa to their home. Ellie’s mother sees Homa as below their station. The young girls are inseparable and it isn’t until Ellie and her mother move back to their uptown area of past that the bonds between the girls are strained. We see them come together again for a time and then a pivotal event creates a divide between them. Then many years later, one of the women sends a letter to the other with a request. That is where the story begins.

I had been hearing great things about this book and knew I had to get my hands on it. I am so glad I did as I feel better for having read it. Many of my friends growing up had families that had left Iran because of the politics. I have a love for the food and remember being schooled on how to hold the sugar cube in my mouth when I drank tea from special cups. I feel this book would be a good introduction to the changes in Iran over the last 75 years and a snapshot of where it sits today in comparison.

Content Warnings

christinesreads's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

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