A review by jashanac
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

slow-paced

3.0

This was well-written and I generally enjoyed it, however unrequited first love (from teen years) is not exactly the romance trope for me. I simply can't get invested in it because all my brain thinks is, "Just... move on already???" It just doesn't compute in my brain, so I don't find it deeply profound or tragic or moving like I think I'm supposed to - haha

Also it was wildly frustrating that the main characters basically had a decades long miscommunication happening and I found it hard to believe that
neither one of them ever even CASUALLY made a comment to their mutual friend, about their understanding of what happened between them all those years ago... no "well she chose to leave me", "well he decided to call off the engagement..." -- nothing?? I mean I guess maybe they weren't THAT close to this mutual friend or it just wasn't culturally something they would have said even casually... but it just seemed a bit far fetched to me that they never got wind of this misunderstanding and then it was really frustrating when they were in person again finally and we had to have one scene of INFURIATING miscommunication, where she thought he was just losing his mind and was brushing him off as he was trying to explain... ugh!
 

I think I would have found this more emotional and profound if these were two adults who met later in life after having other serious relationships who fell in love and then had a tragic end and then unrequited love for each other... I'd find it more believable and genuine. I think it's probably easy to think super fondly of your first love simply for the fact that it was your first love and our emotions run so much wilder when we are young. But to pine after that person for decades, literally always thinking about them? Swearing off relationships years and years later because you're still so irrevocably heartbroken? It just isn't something I can get invested in. 
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