The Lion Women of Tehran

by Marjan Kamali

Rating: 5 (12 votes)

Tags: Set in Iran Female author Coming of age

The Lion Women of Tehran

Description:
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.

Reviews:

Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Emma
(6 months ago)
28 Nov, 2025
This should be listed for Iran, not Turkey...?
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Babette
(3 months ago)
15 Feb, 2026
Can we change the book to Iran please?
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Michele
(1 year ago)
20 Nov, 2024
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Taylor
(11 months ago)
12 Jun, 2025
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Mary
(8 months ago)
14 Sep, 2025
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Janine
(7 months ago)
29 Oct, 2025
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Anna
(3 months ago)
16 Feb, 2026
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Emily
(1 year ago)
03 Jun, 2025
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Caitlin
(3 months ago)
15 Feb, 2026
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Stefani
(2 months ago)
09 Mar, 2026
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Sarby
(2 months ago)
04 Apr, 2026
Read Around The World Challenge user profile avatar for Natalie
(1 month ago)
13 Apr, 2026

Add comment

Country: Turkey flag Turkey
Language: EN

More books from Turkey

Journey to the Edge of Life Dawn Silent House

More books from Read Around Asia Challenge

Echos der Stille Schoolgirl The Blitz


By using the links on this page, you help support our global reading community. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.