Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

101 reviews

kpeps's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

A beautiful story with incredible lessons and connections, but some of the miscommunication made me not want to finish at times.  All in all a good read, and I would absolutely reach for this author again.

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keithy23's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0


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samfrancis's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0


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jackyy93's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“For Roya Joon, my love. May you always be happy and may all your days be filled with beautiful words.”

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kmarie341's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.75


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seforana's review against another edition

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challenging 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? Yes

5.0


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annreadsabook's review against another edition

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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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arnoles's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.75

This was a absolutely beautiful, gorgeous book. The love story was powerful and moving and the theme of societal/family expectations and personal desire was expressed beautifully. The time jump and the occasional switch in character focus was used perfectly. I learned a lot about Iranian history and Persian culture from this book as well. Definitely have tissues ready for the last 50 or so pages.

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madelinedalton's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25


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ddnreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

*inhale*

AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH

HUFT

😡🥺😫😫😫😫😭😭

"Did we make it?"
*insert smile through the pain meme*


The Stationary Shop is a romance laced with historical fiction set in Iran. Told through non-linear timeline, it revolved around the political condition at that time, young once-in-a-lifetime lovers, and difficult condition of one's family. 

The story traced back the tangled love background history of a mother who affect the young lovers' path to the future. 

I have my suspicion, but how it turned out still enraged me :((( I hate miscommunication trope.  And I think they deserve better. At least the closure gave it justice 🥺

If you're into historical fiction romance with complicated family dynamic, the love of a mother and the lost of children, pick this book up and suffer with me. 

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