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mayukiiq's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
STUNNING
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, and Sexual content
bookswithchaipai's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
Roya…In Tehran she had been raised, in its city streets she spent her childhood, in its schools she was educated, and right there on one of its main squares her heart broke. She picked up the shattered pieces and glued them back in a foreign country, in the arms of a foreigner, but it all came undone in another stationery shop, so much like the one in Tehran, when her heart started beating wildly again, looking for answers.
The Stationery shop on the streets of Tehran had struck Roya’s fancy, and it was her cool respite on warm Wednesdays. But a chance encounter with a boy 'who is going to change the world' sent tremors in her peaceful existence, and a love the quality of which is sweet as honey and pure as silk burst forth. Their plans got derailed, but what remained was true love which magnified through the years, with the heart yearning for a love lost and a phantom hand gripping the heart never to let go so that it would never give all its love to someone else again.
This is not just one love story, but two, set years apart, the repercussions of which echoed through the years. Both of them are lovers spurned because of class differences and familial issues.
The Iranian coup and the undercurrents of Iranian politics was a study in history for me that was riveting. The thoughts of the anti-Shah followers and the turmoil the country was going through, have been enumerated in detail which I loved.
The Iranian culture, their mouthwatering food, the soul-stirring ingredients spiced up the book to another level. Roya found true love for the second time while cooking a pot of delicious stew, which says something about this.
And how can I not mention the love letters? Epistolary fiction is my favorite kind, and this one takes the cake. The pure love flowed through the pages like water, making it shine with a mesmerizing quality. You could see the entire heart poured out into each letter, and this broke me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Violence
lapetite's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
I just finished this book and I need someone to hold me because I am not ok. Do not expect any coherent thoughts from me right now.
All I want to do is sob in a corner and eat comforting Persian food as I try to deal with my injured heart. The novel is a bittersweet tale of love and loss, one that transcends years and generations.I knew this book was not a romance and therefore it would not have a happy ending for Bahman and Roya, but goddamn it, I hoped! Even if the ending completely decimated me, it was still fulfilling because even though they had lost so much time, they still loved each other and they knew it. When Roya gets Bahman's tin filled with her letters and the letters he wrote but never sent? UGH, THE TEARS. They deserved better. They deserved a life together. Alas, it wasn't meant to be but even so their love was so strong, it still survived even through the pain, the uncertainty.
Don't mind me, I'm just sniffling over here.
My only real gripe is that it starts off very slow and even felt a bit disjointed, but none of that mattered in the end.
Also, as a writer, it was very comforting for me to read the acknowledgments and see how this book started out as one the author wrote for herself. It kind of gives me hope that I can follow my heart and maybe a story that I write just for me will resonate with others the way The Stationery Shop resonated with me.
All I want to do is sob in a corner and eat comforting Persian food as I try to deal with my injured heart. The novel is a bittersweet tale of love and loss, one that transcends years and generations.
Don't mind me, I'm just sniffling over here.
My only real gripe is that it starts off very slow and even felt a bit disjointed, but none of that mattered in the end.
Also, as a writer, it was very comforting for me to read the acknowledgments and see how this book started out as one the author wrote for herself. It kind of gives me hope that I can follow my heart and maybe a story that I write just for me will resonate with others the way The Stationery Shop resonated with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Terminal illness and Abortion
thisblondeisbooked's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Roya, a teenager living in Iran in 1953, finds her safe haven in Mr. Fakhri's stationary shop amongst the books and fountain pens every Tuesday. One day, the bell rings and in walks a boy named Bahman. They lock eyes and from that moment on, they knew they were destined to spend their lives together. A few months later on the eve of their wedding, Roya agrees to meet Bahman in the town square so they can get their marriage papers signed at the marriage office. However, while Roya waits for Bahman to show up, violence erupts and she never sees Bahman again - until 60 years later when fate brings them together. Roya is living in America married to another man. And she needs the answer to her question: "Why did you leave and where did you go?"
.
.
I am UNWELL. I had full on hyperventilating sobs while reading this one. It turned me into an absolute puddle. When I gained my composure again, the epilogue punched me right in the gut. I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and I felt like my body was on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. This book was so eloquently written and the author's writing was so descriptive that I imagined myself walking among the fountain pens and pages in the stationary shop. I absolutely loved (and loathed) the characters and I felt emotionally invested in their story.
.
The Stationary Shop has easily become one of my top 5 favorite books of all-time. I highly recommend this one (but I do not recommend starting this as an audiobook on your way to work - just from personal experience). This book is going to stay with me for a long time.
.
.
I am UNWELL. I had full on hyperventilating sobs while reading this one. It turned me into an absolute puddle. When I gained my composure again, the epilogue punched me right in the gut. I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and I felt like my body was on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. This book was so eloquently written and the author's writing was so descriptive that I imagined myself walking among the fountain pens and pages in the stationary shop. I absolutely loved (and loathed) the characters and I felt emotionally invested in their story.
.
The Stationary Shop has easily become one of my top 5 favorite books of all-time. I highly recommend this one (but I do not recommend starting this as an audiobook on your way to work - just from personal experience). This book is going to stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Suicide attempt
minimoongoddess's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
this story was very lovely and sad. i really felt like i was in Tehran while reading it. but it lacked the emotional sucker punch that i had been anticipating, so i gave it a 4.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Violence, and Grief
aqtbenz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Violence
fsprouls's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is perhaps one of the best and the most heartbreaking books I've read in awhile. You are told (most) of the ending at the start of the book, which leads you to root for the ending not to happen and for events to unfold differently. There were many heartbreaking moments of grief, for me especially when Roya and Walter's child died, Bahman's death from Parkinson's and his letter revealing his side of the story, and then the very end when it was revealed why Mr. Fakhri went to the Square to find Roya. There is a sense of closure with all of the main characters by the end of the novel, but I haven't stopped thinking about how the events unfolded and the various characters since I finished reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
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