In a way, it belonged there.” But a disastrous breakup through letters leads to Roya leaving Iran forever, and thus begins a new chapter for her. Fakhri, Roya begins to write letters to Bahman: “She thought of her words being placed inside the pages of a Persian poetry book, hugged by the verses of the ancients.

After an unsuccessful plan between Roya and Bahman to meet each other in the town square, Bahman and his family suddenly disappear, leaving Roya helpless and hopeless. Aslan’s protests, Bahman proposes to Roya, which is when the story enforces an unavoidable rift between the lovers. Bahman finds it hard to express his mother’s condition, and maybe he doesn’t have the right words to describe it, which is telling on how brown communities deal with mental health and how the lack of resources presents uncomfortable situations.ĭespite Mrs. Her volatile state was not something Roya is accustomed to, so her perspective of Bahman’s mother was hard for me as a reader to grasp because there were moments where Roya and Zari chose to villainize Mrs. The introduction of Bahman’s mother brings the topic of mental health into the narrative as she suffers from depression and a form of bipolar disorder. She has other plans on whom Bahman must marry for him to have a wealthy and secure future. Roya’s family accepts Bahman as a suitable boy for her, but Bahman’s parents, specifically his mother, wants nothing to do with Roya. Roya and Bahman’s love story is set against the backdrop of political unrest under Mohammad Mossadegh’s rise and fall, so time is of the essence for the young lovers.

Tuesday after Tuesday, the two young lovers meet at the Stationery Shop and find a few moments of respite together, drinking in love poetry by writers like Rumi, while falling deeply in love with each other. Kamali beautifully encapsulates those first stages of young, awkward love stemmed from curiosity and longing-something a lot of us can relate to. The Stationery Shop presents a perfect spot for a meet-cute moment that every book-lover, including myself, can only dream about. On a Tuesday afternoon, Roya’s frequent trips to the Stationery Shop changes the course of her life forever when in walks a breathless Bahman Aslan, a young, handsome man who is already known for his political activism. Fakhri and loses herself between the pages of poetry and prose. Instead, she escapes to the little Stationery Shop run by the attentive Mr.

He has big dreams for his daughters, but Roya doesn’t spend her days thinking about what profession she will pursue. She and her younger sister, Zari, are encouraged by their father to take advantage of the new reforms that allow women to attend university. she/her story begins in 1953 with Roya Khanom, a 17-year-old schoolgirl raised in a progressive household in Tehran.

Book review the stationery shop