The Lion Women of Tehran
4.6 | 33,126 ratings
Price: 13.99
Last update: 03-31-2026
Product details
- ASIN : B0CL5GS8SK
- Publisher : Gallery Books
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : July 2, 2024
- Language : English
- File size : 2.7 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 333 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1668036600
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#20 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 20th Century Historical Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 20th Century Historical Fiction (Books)
- Friendship Fiction (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:4.64.6 out of 5 stars(33,097)
Top reviews from the United States
- KWylyFriendship in an ever changing countryLife changed dramatically for seven-year-old Elaheh after her father died. Her father’s brother now held the purse strings for Elaheh and her mother. Uncle Massoud forced them to move to a small place at “the bottom of the city.” Gone was the beautiful home her mother had lived in since her marriage at age 16. Gone were the servants. Gone was the money her father made. Gone were her mother’s paintings, jewelry, furniture, all the trappings of a wealthy life. Home now consisted of two rooms with a mattress on the floor where both mother and daughter slept.
Elaheh’s self absorbed, ultra superstitious, mean spirited mother refused to work as having a job was beneath someone who was descended from royalty as she often reminded her daughter.
Ellie spent those early days looking out her window at the neighborhood children playing in the streets. Forbidden to join them, she could only dream about having a friend.
As their first summer in the slums drew to a close, Elaheh’s mother announced that she had registered her daughter for first grade. Ellie was so excited for school and knew that there she would finally find her perfect friend.
But the kind, gentle friend of her dreams never appeared. Instead, a curly haired, loud, boisterous, girl with mischief in her eyes became her BFF. Her name was Homa and she was so different from what Ellie had imagined her best friend would be. Homa and her family welcomed Ellie. But her own mother refused to allow Homa to come home with Ellie. In spite of the prejudice and hate her mother spewed about Homa and her family, the girls built a solid friendship. And together they were going to grow up and follow their dreams.
Their bond of friendship was strong with ups and downs throughout their lives. Both girls had dreams. Homa was the idealist - a fighter, an activist, wanting to make changes for the women in her beloved country while Ellie was a gentle soul, who wanted a college education, a husband and children. Both dreams were shattered as Iran’s political climate changed and the Sha was ousted.
This beautifully written story is told in flashbacks from 1950 to 2022. This is a story of two little girls who grew up in an ever changing country. It is a story of courage, friendship, women’s rights (or lack of them), Iranian culture, and political unrest. Written by the author who brought us The Stationary Shop, Marjan Kamila has woven an engaging and timely story about the strength and beauty of the women living in Iran. Don’t miss this five star novel. - andreaGrowing close friendship, historical war and protests, family tiesThis book mostly takes place in the country of Iran and it's turmoil. There are 2 main characters, Elaheh, who comes from an upscale family. The other is Homa, who comes from a lower class family. They are both 7 years in the beginning and become the best of friends. They get thru childhood but as they grow into adolescent years they begin to conflict. Elaheh, is more subdued and not as interested in politics. Homa, is robust and gets into everything. She gets involved in politics to stand up for women's rights.
The emotions of worry, betrayal, love, redemption are all in here. The author did an excellent job of make the 2 girls so real. It did not become over taken by the political turmoil in Iran which was a part of the story.
I totally recommend you read this story. It moves along and I wanted to know what is next. Enjoy! - Stephanie McCallLooks Quiet, But Roars Beautifully InsideThe Lion Women of Tehran was my first Marjan Kamali book, but I'm thinking it won't be my last. If you know my reviews, you probably know I'm a bit picky with secular fiction. It needs to be lyrical but not too flowery, deep but not bogged down in descriptions, angst, or repetition. The Lion Women of Tehran met this criteria and more. I wasn't sure what I expected from it, but the more I read of this novel, the more I wanted to read, until I looked up and realized I had finished.
As with so many great books, Marjan's characters were largely responsible for how much I enjoyed Lion Women. Ellie and Homa are Iranian women growing, changing, and building lives in the 1950s-1980s. Yet they felt as real and accessible as if they were 21st-century American women, or timeless women, period. Their friendship warmed me from the inside out. I identified and empathized with its ups and downs, and worried about what would drive these two women as close as sisters apart. Refreshingly though, Marjan's treatment of Homa and Ellie never lingered on the pain and angst of lost friendship. That pain exists, and it's raw and heartbreaking. But underneath beats a couple of strong, unbreakable hearts.
Speaking of unbreakable hearts, I loved that I identified with both Homa and Ellie throughout the novel and in different ways. I have never faced the travails Homa did and pray I never have to. Yet, I know what it feels like to fight for the rights of a particular group and feel like few if any people understand what you're doing or why. My home life was far less tumultuous than Ellie's, and I was never a "queen," in high school or otherwise. Yet, I have been the one who's more hesitant about speaking up, the one who doesn't take the risk, the one who's a bit more conventional in her desires or choices. Identifying with both protagonists this way helped me see more deeply into their points of view and understand their choices. I found this unique and invaluable in a "lost friendship novel," because I thought most other authors might set it up so readers were encouraged to "take sides."
Additionally, I was struck by how political, yet how down-to-earth and challenging, Lion Women was. That is, on a personal level, I don't think I'd agree with Ellie or Homa's political position, either as an American or had I been born Iranian. But because Marjan writes these positions as belonging to real people, I could see why and how both positions contributed to the Iran of their day. I could see why and how an average citizen would choose one position or the other, and how her life would be affected. In other words, the Iran of history books became a real country here, with real stakes and real, life-altering questions attached.
To segue, that leads into how well I think Marjan did with the setting. I don't normally brag on settings, but the Tehran of the eras she covers pops to life on the page. I truly felt I had experienced everything from the Grand Bazaar to Iranian girls' schools to "westernized" parties to 1970s New York while reading this novel. (As much as I disliked Ellie's mother for most of the book, I couldn't help identifying with her reaction to the earliest iteration of TV dinners)! By the time I finished Lion Women, I had a bit of an appetite for Persian ice cream and spices, I had embraced the rhythms of some beautiful names (I had never heard the name Homa before), and I definitely wanted to stand in solidarity with the "lion women." In fact, I think that's the thing I appreciated about this book; both Ellie and Homa turn out to be "lion women," just in different ways, and they bring that to different situations and places in the world, in their lives.
Having finished the book, I would've loved a more even split between Ellie and Homa's POVs, so I got a deeper sense of who Homa was especially. I also would've liked a deeper look into how Islam looked in the eras Marjan covered (I understand both Ellie and Homa came from secular households, and it works, but knowing where the book was headed, I'd have appreciated some stronger religious or philosophical threads). Similarly, now that I'm finished, I wonder if it wouldn't have been a better idea for Homa, instead of being a Communist, to simply be a passionate women's rights advocate. (That is, a lot of Americans make immediate assumptions when you say, "Communist," plus, I thought that thread kind of took away from the "main" story and what Homa was mainly focused on fighting for).
Those minor notes aside, The Lion Women of Tehran has been my best literary surprise so far this year, in secular fiction or otherwise. If you haven't read it, I urge you to do so. It's a particularly great pick for a book club if you've got one; mothers with teen or adult daughters might love reading it together. Enjoy, perhaps with a themed snack. I know I'll be looking for similar books soon and taking the inspiration to nurture my inner "lion woman." Thanks, Marjan! - Miss Ophelia RoseEngagingA well written, beautiful book. The author is a talented story teller who takes you through time and history with the adept brush of a master artist. Her stories are heartfelt, and sometimes they are difficult to read because of that. If you are Persian, her three novels are must reads! You will not be able to put her stories down.
- Amazon CustomerGyration story of women in TehranGreat story of women living in Tehran. Gives you a perspective of a women’s life in Iran as well as why they are loyal (in some respects) to Iran. There is a lot of creativity among women in Tehran.
- linda tantonLiked this book. Relevant today.This is a good story and is particularly relevant in these times.
- JoanneNice historical fictionThis is a very interesting coming-of-age-and-beyond story which takes place largely in Tehran. You gain insights about Iran, how women have been treated through the decades, and how protesters against the regime are handled. The ending was a bit too simplistic, but the book overall was very good.