Marjan Kamali

A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'As heart-wrenching as it is achingly beautiful' Sadeqa Johnson, author of The House of Eve 'Heartbreaking and life affirming' Adrienne Brodeur, author of Little Monsters 'Courage, friendship, loyalty, hardship, love – this novel has everything' Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes From the author of The Stationery Shop of Tehran, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation. Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming 'lion women.' But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences. Praise for Marjan Kamali ‘Evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful’ Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light ‘A beautifully immersive tale’ Jasmin Darznik, author of The Good Daughter and Song of a Captive Bird ‘At once masterfully plotted, beautifully written, and populated by characters who are arresting, lovable and so real’ Elinor Lipman, author of Turpentine Lane ‘A sweeping romantic tale of thwarted love’ Kirkus Reviews ‘Enchanting’ My Weekly

The life-affirming BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick

The Lion Women of Tehran

Lindsay

When you're drowning, and the world feels as though it was not meant for you, when the lack of sleep and appetite make you want to curl up and give up, when the demands of a baby are overwhelming and absolutely crushing, how do you fake the persona of a woman who is alright?

Saffia

Now, with the protests after Mahsa's death and the country reverberating in grief, I feel the rage continuously, I feel it in every limb of my body, in every milliliter of my blood. Of course I go out with the young women and men protesting night after night. How could I stay home?

Let them beat me with their batons, let them bruise my body to a pulp, let them shoot and kill me. For a lifetime we have fought. We have fought and fought and fought. We want to be free. We want to be equal. We want to be able to live our lives. 

I recently read a theory about ocean waves. This theory says that while to our eyes waves appear suddenly on the shore, their abruptness is an illusion. Waves begin their journey thousands of miles out at sea. They accumulated shape and power from winds and undersea currents for ages. 

And so when you see the women screaming in Iran for their rights, please remember, dear Leily, that the force and fury of our screams have been gathering power for years. 

In all the video calls we have had, in all our online texting and connection, I look at you, my dear granddaughter, and I wish for you not the world, nor the owning of it, nor even success in it.

And I hope that you experience some moments so tender and dear that they make up for a thousand harsh ones.

The Lion Women of Tehran quotes

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