A review by pomoevareads
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

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. 
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