The Lion Women of Tehran

Powerful, moving and compelling, The Lion Women of Tehran was a book I could not put down.

At its heart, this is a story about the bond between two young girls, Elaheh "Ellie" and Homa, that begins in childhood, continues into the angsty teens and into adulthood. We see how this friendship builds these two young women up, how it is tested, fractured and yet remains one of the formative relationships that shape who these two young women become.

Starting in 1950's Tehran, Iran, readers witness the burgeoning political upheaval and the era the Shah followed by the revolution in the 1970's/80's. Through Ellie and Homa's POVs, we see how these events, and the growing restrictive rules, impact these two young women and the basic human rights and freedom of all Iranian women. With its themes of class and women's rights, this would make an excellent book club pick ... and if you're like me, you'll shed a tear or two.

Beautifully written, powerful and poignant, this exceptional story will captivate you, enlighten you to Iran's culture and history, and highlights the power and tenacity of women. May all women find their inner Lion Women within them and let them roar!

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Gallery Books for the complimentary copy of this book which was given in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Marjan Kamali

Genre: Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, BIPOC author

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from publisher

Publisher: Gallery Books

First Published: July 2, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: From the nationally bestselling author of the “powerful, heartbreaking” (Shelf Awareness) The Stationery Shop, 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.

Written with Marjan Kamali’s signature “evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful” (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light) prose, The Lion Women of Tehran is a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young, and the way love and courage transforms our lives.