Bahman marries the woman his mother chooses, Shahla, and has twins.

Life Goes On after Lossīoth Roya and Bahman move on with their lives and go on to create families on opposite sides of the world. Bahman was the only one of her children who survived, and she set all her dreams on him. She aborted his child on her own and blamed him for the 3 other miscarriages/stillbirths she had afterward. He failed to defy his father, and she never forgave him for it. He promised to marry her, but his father had other plans. When she was 14, Ali fell in love with her, and she gave herself to him. Why does Ali agree to Intercede?Īli agrees to do as Badri wishes because she guilts him into it. In this way, Bahman’s mother can advance her social position as planned by having Bahman marry the woman she chose for him. Then, he writes letters to each of the lovers to let the other know that the other no longer wants to get married. She convinces the bookseller, Ali, to use his calligraphy skills to edit the letter sent from Bahman to Roya so that they miss a planned meeting. They become engaged and plan to get married, but Bahman’s mother, Badri, is against the match. There, he gave them a chance to be alone, and their love grew. They first meet at The Stationery Shop, owned by Ali.

Bahman and Roya fall in love in 1950s Iran, during the ousting of the prime minister. I found it engrossing, and give The Stationery Shop five stars.The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali is primarily a love story. It is down to earth, with insights into a culture and history we don’t often read about. This is romantic without being cheesy or chick-lit. I don’t want to say too much about this one, but if you believe in lasting love, you will like this solid piece of literature.

And who knows if one got exactly what one wanted, whether that would have worked out better? Are we beaten down and compromised by life’s unexpected pivot points, or are we strengthened by our surrender to what we could not have changed?

The human spirit is resilient, and alternate paths, while maybe not so radiant, are not so bad either. This poignant story is definitely sad, while strongly life affirming at the same time. Two idealistic young people grow up and face a world that does not behave as they wish it did. Set mostly in Iran in the 1950’s during a time of political upheaval, and also partially taking place more recently in the United States, this book is about lost love, the quirks of fate, missed chances, and forgiveness.

The stationery shop review