The weekly post

The one that ends the reading rut

Hi friends, it’s been a long hiatus away from writing and connecting with you. The hiatus was mostly because I was having a hard time finding books that I felt like I could properly review and share with this community. Combine this with an intense work schedule, lots of travel, and the chaos of living in DC the past few months, and it’s felt challenging to sit down and write, despite how much I’ve missed this community. This week, I’m so excited to be back with a review of a new book from one of my favorite authors, and I’m hoping I have finally broken out of this reading rut.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re reading these days, keep taking good care.

Currently Reading

FIRST TIME CALLER by B.K. Borison. This book has been compared to a modern-day retelling of Sleepless in Seattle, one of my all-time favorite movies, so this was a no brainer for me. I’ve seen this book everywhere lately, and I wanted something a bit faster-paced before diving back into some nonfiction. It’s early on, and I’m not sold on the writing style just yet, though I’m looking forward to diving in more fully this week.

Recent Recommendation

THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN by Marjan Kamali (5 stars). I am so excited to share this book with you all. Kamali is a writer I found during the pandemic, first with her novel The Stationary Shop and then with Together Tea. I started this third novel with high hopes and am continually struck by the brilliance and beauty of her writing, so unlike anything else I have read.

The Lion Women of Tehran tells the stories of Elaheh (Ellie) and Homa, two young girls growing up in Tehran in the 1950s. Ellie has only known a life of understated privilege and comfort, her mother often reminding her that they are (distantly) descended from royalty. When Ellie’s father passes away unexpectedly, she is forced to grapple with her grief and her mother’s refusal to acknowledge or speak about the loss, and she’s desperate for friendship and connection. Enter Homa: a classmate who speaks her mind directly and unabashedly believes in her ability to succeed and break barriers as a young woman in Iran, despite having fewer resources and privileges than many of her classmates. Ellie and Homa are fast friends and complement one another’s ambitions, with Homa often pushing Ellie to embrace a sense of adventure and fearlessness. Though Ellie’s mom disapproves of Homa from the start - whether because of Homa’s rebellious spirit or lower socioeconomic class - this time together as young girls kicks off decades of friendship that is put to the test by separation, political turmoil and revolution, grief, and all sorts of complicated heartache.

There is so much I loved about this book. Each of Marjan Kamali’s novels tells the stories of Iranian women leading up to and throughout the Iranian revolution, and how these women make sense of their world. The women in these stories are ambitious, brave, and multi-faceted. They are obviously deeply impacted by the political turmoil in their country, and they also crave earnest friendships, personal and professional autonomy, romantic love, and to stay rooted in their sense of community. Of Kamali’s novels, Lion Women has the strongest focus on female friendship, and it was both beautiful and heartbreaking to witness Ellie and Homa traverse through so many phases of life. Homa sees Ellie’s ache for a family and so willingly opens up her home. Homa is patient with Ellie when dating suddenly becomes more interesting than keeping up with her studies, and Ellie admires Homa’s self-assuredness and the way she refers to them as “lion women,” even and especially when Ellie questions her own bravery. Their friendship doesn’t follow a linear path and is filled with long periods of separation and silence that leave an uncertainty about whether they will be brought together again. The deep love and devotion between Ellie and Homa is so beautiful and tender that I was brought to tears on multiple occasions while reading this (and I’m usually just a shameless crier at the end of books).

As with Stationary Shop and Together Tea, this book gave me a look into a part of the world that I have less familiarity with, and I’m always grateful for the power of books to expand our worldview and understanding of other cultures. The Lion Women of Tehran centers political activism more than any of Kamali’s other novels, which feels meaningful and relevant in our current geopolitical landscape, and which I appreciate having learned very little about this world history in my schooling. But while the revolution is an important backdrop for this story, it in no way outshines or overpowers the fullness and vibrance of these characters’ lives and Iranian culture more broadly. There is a big emphasis, for example, on the power of food to bring people together and to delight in the act of cooking comforting, flavorful dishes for the ones you love, and Kamali’s descriptions of food are unparalleled and always leave me wanting to spend more time cooking slow, elaborate meals. It’s not simply that Ellie and Homa enjoy food or cooking. It’s that through whatever personal or political upheaval they may be experiencing, coming back to family recipes and savoring meals around the table together anchors them in a unique and unshakeable way.

The Lion Women of Tehran is the ultimate slow burn: the writing and pacing is beautiful, and I took my time with this book on purpose. This isn’t a novel I wanted to read in a few sittings, though there were definitely page-turning spurts where I felt fully engrossed in knowing what happened next. While I know this will mean it takes some folks a little bit of time to feel fully invested in this story, let me reassure you that this novel is well worth it and a beautiful journey.

Recommend for… fans of The Starionary Shop by Marjan Kamali, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Up Next

FREEDOM by Angela Merkel. This book has been at the top of my nightstand reading pile since the holidays, and with the speed at which we are seeing democracy and civil rights and liberties under attack, I feel like I really can’t and don’t want to wait any longer to read this. Seeing former German Chancellor Angela Merkel with President Obama in DC before the holidays was one of the most hopeful and inspiring moments I have had since election night, and I’m looking forward to tapping back into that for some lessons learned and guidance for our road ahead.

As we head into spring (finally), I am also counting down towards some highly anticipated releases. I just picked up Curtis Sittenfeld’s newest book Show Don’t Tell, and we also have Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman, One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune, Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, and We’ve Decided to Go in a Different Direction by Tess Sanchez over the next couple months.

Quote of the Week

“That’s how losses of rights build. They start small. And then soon, the rights are stripped in droves… Eventually, we worry, we will lose the freedom of choice altogether.” - The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamala

Three Words

Rooted, grateful, community.