THE STATIONERY SHOP OF TEHERAN by Marian Kamali

While reading this I was reminded often of The Notebook and The Bridges of Madison County - love stories of such intensity and romance, they couldn't possibly really be real.  But both written in such a hopelessly romantic and idealised way, intensely emotional, and possibly unlikely, that, for me, neither really reached beyond the 5-6 out of 10 mark. Did I scoff when I finished reading these, quite possibly. And yet like millions of others I also saw the movies, liked Bridges very much - only because Clint and Meryl were in it....   

I feel much the same about this book, and a movie would probably engender the same response. It tapped at the heart strings, rather than tugged. A teenage love affair is ripped apart at a time of violence, danger and political turmoil. I wonder if it is the loss of the beloved which burns in the heart or if it was the social backdrop of the times that was the greater trauma. 

Aside from the slightly soppy story line, this is actually a lovely story to read and immerse oneself in. Opening in Teheran in 1953, Roya is 17 years old, a typical teenage girl, full of curiosity, questions, smart, sassy, determined, a loving daughter and sister. She lives with her parents and older sister at a time in Iran when, yet again in its long history, the times are a-changing. The democratically elected government is on the way out, thanks to the US and military support of the former monarchy. 

Roya meets Bahman, a year or two older than her, in her favourite shop - the stationery shop, the owner taking a kind and benevolent interest in the young people coming into his shop. Bahman is an agent for change, outraged by what is going on. Roya is captivated by this handsome, dynamic and romantic young man. They pledge eternal love - very Romeo and Juliet - going so far as to get engaged much to the horror of Bahman's mother.

Their decision to elope is the beginning of the end for these two, greater forces working to ensure this does not happen. It would seem that neither Roya nor Bahman ever get over this tragedy in their lives.  I am not giving anything away by saying the two meet again, because that is how the novel begins. But it is what happens in the years between that make the story. 

Roya and her sister end up in the US, both at college together - I actually really liked this section - these two young Iranian women learning English, migrants and aliens to the America of the 1950s. Their navigation of all this is great, as they try to maintain and celebrate their Iranian identity and yet work so hard to fit in with the California culture. Roya meets Walter, what a lovely man, and yet she continues to carry a torch for Bahman through the years, the decades. The one galling character is Walter's sister - why there always has to be someone in the dominant culture who takes extreme exception to someone from another culture coming into the family I just do not know - such an unnecessary stereotype. 

What I also loved was reading about Iranian culture, love of literature and poetry, festivals and important dates in the calendar, and the food - so many beautiful descriptions of the delicious food and how important food is in relationships with people, as well as for the soul. 

So there are many many good points about this book, and definitely worth a read, but it was perhaps just a bit too 'movie worthy' for me.