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jenny_king 's review for:
The Stationery Shop of Tehran
by Marjan Kamali
This is the ultimate tragic love story, in which outside forces conspire to separate a young couple in love. I think that the story was very well written, although Roya was perhaps not the most likeable character at times. It’s also slightly frustrating- I get that young love, particularly when you are only 17, can feel like the most powerful and emotional feeling in the world. And that the consequential heartbreak will be equally so. Perhaps I am overly cynical, but to hold onto that love for so long to the point where the man that you spent decades with almost doesn’t measure up, is borderline farsical.
Walter is actually the person that I feel most sorry for - he chooses to marry and spend his life with a woman who only really sees him as second best, and who is never truly honest with him about her past. And given the time period that we are looking at I imagine that there would be a certain amount of discrimination given that she was Iranian. So despite the fact that they spent over 5 decades together, he still feels like the understudy in her love life, which feels wrong and unfair given that he was written to be such a lovely character who was devoted to her.
Overall I enjoyed the majority of the book, would probably give it 3.5 stars rounded up, particularly for the sections based in Iran in the 50s, and for the sections of mental health and Mrs Aslan’s decline. I actually found her story, and her relationship with her family and Mr Fakhri the most fascinating in the book.
Walter is actually the person that I feel most sorry for - he chooses to marry and spend his life with a woman who only really sees him as second best, and who is never truly honest with him about her past. And given the time period that we are looking at I imagine that there would be a certain amount of discrimination given that she was Iranian. So despite the fact that they spent over 5 decades together, he still feels like the understudy in her love life, which feels wrong and unfair given that he was written to be such a lovely character who was devoted to her.
Overall I enjoyed the majority of the book, would probably give it 3.5 stars rounded up, particularly for the sections based in Iran in the 50s, and for the sections of mental health and Mrs Aslan’s decline. I actually found her story, and her relationship with her family and Mr Fakhri the most fascinating in the book.