Title: The Lion Women of Tehran

Author: Marjan Kamali

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 21st November 2024

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover:

Summary:

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.

Review:

The Lion Women of Tehran is immersive and atmospheric from the very beginning. The story covers the friendship between two rather different young girls in 1950’s Iran and follows them as they endure, fight, grow and love against a backdrop of unrest and sometimes violence. It is a gorgeously written book which evokes the scents, colours, sights and noises of Tehran in a way that draws the reader in completely. The author is particularly adept in her description of food throughout the novel – you can almost taste the beautiful spices and smell the comforting aromas. 

The real strength of the book, however, lies in the friendship between Ellie and Homa. Their lives and choices tear them apart at times and yet their fates seem undeniably intertwined. Their struggles are also tied irrevocably to the fate of Iran itself, a country which has experienced so much strife and political turmoil. The current climate cannot help but feel like a looming figure in this tale of love, sacrifice and friendship. It is impossible to forget the fact that women in Iran are still very much in a fight for their right to live the lives they deserve in whichever manner they choose. The Lion Women of Tehran is an unforgettable, evocative and vivid story of two women and the courage it takes to make a difference. 

★★★★.5 

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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