The Stationery Shop of Tehran

By: Marjan Kamali

Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò

If you read The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and enjoyed The Beekeeper of Aleppo, you will love The Stationery Shop of Tehran

1953, Tehran. In a small shop in a country on the brink of unrest, two people meet for the very first time.

Roya loves nothing better than to while away the hours in the stationery shop run by Mr Fakhri. The store, stocked with fountain pens, shiny ink bottles, and thick wads of writing paper, also carries translations of literature from all over the world. Bahman, with his burning passion for justice, is like no one else she has ever met.

But all around them, as their relationship blossoms, life in Tehran is changing.

Suddenly, shockingly, violence erupts: a coup d'etat that forever changes their country's future, as well as their own.

Marjan Kamali's beautiful novel explores themes of love and loss, and delivers and unforgettable ending.

Critic reviews

'Travel back in time to the dusty streets of Tehran to meet two star-crossed lovers separated by the turbulent politics of the days when the Shah ruled supreme. An enchanting romance’

‘Simultaneously briskly paced and deeply moving, this will appeal to fans of Khaled Hosseini and should find a wide audience’

‘Evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful… This book broke my heart again and again’ (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light)

‘What a pleasure — a novel that is all at once masterfully plotted, beautifully written, and populated by characters who are arresting, lovable and so real’ (Elinor Lipman, author of Turpentine Lane)

‘A beautiful and sensitive novel that I loved from the first page’ (Alyson Richman, international bestselling author of The Lost Wife)

‘A beautifully immersive tale … brings to life a lost and complex world and the captivating characters who once called it home’ (Jasmin Darznik, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Daughter and Song of a Captive Bird)

‘A sweeping romantic tale of thwarted love’

‘The unfurling stories… will stun readers… For those who enjoy getting caught up in romance while discovering unfamiliar history of another country’

‘Grab your tissues'

‘A tender story of enduring love’

‘I! Am! Obsessed! With! This! Book!’

Loved it

So nice to start off the New Year with a 5-star read. Looking forward to more from this author

A mind blowing love story and snippet of Irans history

Not at all what I expected but so much more. A love story told through decades, generations and continents…. Purely magnificent. The tiny details had me standing in the bookshop in a country I’ve never visited and took me across the ocean to America where the deepest love continued through generations. I could taste , smell and see the love and beauty. A read with such gentleness and kindness I wanted to cry at times……

Beautifully told

Beautifully told story of love and loss. I loved how it was written and loved the narration. One of those books that gives you insight into countries you've never been to and people's from faraway lands.

Such a well scripted story of love lost & found

Beautiful story capturing history with changing times and generations sharing pain, hurt , love , kindness compassion , empathy , forgiveness . Virtues very needed in our current times .

Beautiful but predictable love story

This book was written beautifully, I really enjoyed that aspect. The story line was, however, a bit predictable and that took away from the excitement of the book. I would still recommend reading it!