Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

27 reviews

karwc's review against another edition

challenging inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

cynranne's review

emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

I tend to be stingy with my stars, but this was truly one of the best-written and most engaging novels I’ve read in years. The story of two friends shaped by different backgrounds, upbringings, and life paths was as inspiring as it was compelling. Through their journey, the novel offers a powerful look at Iran’s transformation (and regression) from the 1950s to 2022, highlighting the challenges faced by these young women and their families. The immersive descriptions transported me so completely into their world that I could almost smell the meals they shared- and I absolutely wished I could have tasted them!
This is the kind of book that I will be thinking of for a long while after reading.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

nehaanna's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is a lovely story to introduce the history of Iran and fall into extremist dictatorship to those who are not aware of it. Told through the eyes of two young women, the history of Iran unfolds around them. The novel covers a lot of time and political events, so sometimes the timing is rushed. As it stands, the last chapter or so is rushed, and feels a touch out of place in compared to the rest of the pacing of the story. However, the book has a relevant and well fleshed out theme that needs to be heard today. Feminism and the rights of women are a global struggle, a global war, against religious extremist groups, dictators, and so called democracies here in America. This book introduces those unfamiliar to this struggle in a new light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

madflatt's review against another edition

• 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: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

That was amazing. I finished this book in one sitting. I love the way Kamali writes. She grips you from her first sentence and doesn't let you go until her last.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

noble_editorial's review

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

malindaupton's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

nataliecoyne's review

emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

I won a hardcover copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and so I first want to thank Goodreads and the publisher for that (also, it only took 3 days to arrive which was incredible!). Winning it, and having it arrive so quickly, is the reason I was even able to read this in 2024, as I had been on a long waiting list to get a copy from the library (my local library system in total has 2 copies, but by the time this arrived, I was still 8th in line, there are so many holds). Anyway, all of that said, this is an incredible book (and is definitely worthy of all of those holds)!

I was a bit worried about reading it as I read a book earlier this year that also had to do with Iranian women and found that book quite boring (won't name it in this review). I was worried that maybe I just find the subject manner boring. But that was definitely not the case, as I really enjoyed this read and this is easily a 5-star read. I definitely plan to look into Marjan Kamali's other books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Xenophobia, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

zoelynn's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape and War

Minor: Infidelity

roorooreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? N/A

5.0

This book focuses on two girls that are experiencing a change in the Iranian political system. We know from the very start that they haven't spoken in years, in the very first chapter we receive a note from one of the girls to the other saying that they need to talk after they haven't spoken in years. So we start off the book knowing that something is going to happen but we aren't sure what but somehow they are not going to be the best friends that we are seeing at the very beginning as children. So we find out that these two friends are living through a very large shift in Iran. The girls are able to go to school, they are going thinking about college and Ellie, the main perspective that we're seeing in this book, she has unfortunately adapted a lot of her mother's ideals. And she just wants to be popular she wants to be wealthy. And our other main friend, Homa, she wants change, she wants to be a lawyer, and she wants the rights of the people to be seen and we find out she, like her father, is a member of the communist party. It is interesting the direction this story takes ,because at the very beginning they're talking about being lion women and so far Homa has definitely exhibited that behavior and so I'm very interested to see how our friend Ellie will exhibit being a lion. This is very compelling story and I didn't even realize how quickly I was reading it until all the sudden I was over halfway through in a day. So apparently, I've realized I like historical fiction again. 

I'm having trouble putting my thoughts into words as I finish this book. It was very powerful and consuming. Obviously I read it very quickly it only took me about a day and a half. I did slightly tear up at the end. I cannot say enough how courageous both women are in their own way

but especially Homa who continued to fight for what she believed in, from a very young age all the way up until she was an old women,

it's just amazing. These characters did not feel fictional they felt real. I felt like I was reading someone's memoir of a time when they went through something with their friend and somehow came out on the other side. I highly recommend this book, it is very “appropriate” for this time because I know that this is still happening, what has happened in 2022 in Iran and what I'm sure continues to happen there and throughout the world and what so many are afraid of happening here in America but in a different way. We as women stand together because these are not unprecedented times, it has happened before. We need each other, and as Homa says “…the force and fury of our screams have been gathering power for years…. Remember above all to always love. Love madly”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Infertility, Rape, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol