The Stationery Shop

Author: Marjan Kamali

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Pages: 322

Date Started: 26 August 2021

Date Finished: 1 September 2021

I accidentally bumped into this book while browsing historical fiction books. The ratings were high on Goodreads and the story synopsis sounded interesting as well. And most importantly, it was available to pick up at my library which made me pick up this book on a whim!

The story is about Roya Kayhani, now Archer, who grew up in Iran during turbulent times. She is a teen living with her parents and a younger sister Zari. Their father seems to stress education and has high hopes for both girls. Roya is a regular visitor to the local stationery shop run by Ali Fakhri to read poetry by Rumi and other books. There she meets a young man Bahman Alsan and eventually falls in love with him.

With the permission of their parents, they are engaged to marry each other. On the eve of their marriage, Roya is supposed to meet Bahman at the town square, and the violence erupts changing their lives forever. Roya tries to contact Bahman in every way she can and it is fruitless. Roya moves on with her life, eventually getting into college in California, along with her sister Zari, and meets Walter Archer. Roya marries Walter and lives in New England. After nearly sixty years, she happens to visit a local bookstore, which leads her to Bahman Aslan, who is now a local senior center. She is now capable of approaching Bahman to know more about the fateful afternoon that changed their lives and know more about the events that followed. But Roya needs to gather the courage to meet her past!

I was impressed with Roya's character. She as a teenage girl is busy with her passion for reading and falls in love with Bahman out of nowhere. After the unfortunate event, although heartbroken, she tries to move on. I really liked the fact that the author created Roya a strong character of getting through everything that comes her way while keeping her roots and culture strong. Even when she gets the chance to meet her past, she easily forgives Bahman, yet is strong enough to know the reason for Bahman's behavior. She is easily forgiving and more practical.

The book is for sure a page-turner. The books walked me through the changing times in Iran. The story never felt stalled or boring. Although I wish Bahman's side of the story was more interesting. The book did a great job moving according to the times while keeping the characters intact. I also felt good that all the characters had a proper exit as well. I also realized that I need to read more about world political history, specifically Iranian history which has changed so much in the last 60 years or so.

Favorite lines from the book:

• The past was always there, lurking in the corners, winking at you when you thought you'd moved on, hanging on to your organs from the inside.

• You might think the world is complicated and full of lost souls, that people who've touched your life and disappeared will never be found, but in the end, all of that can change.

• She could spend an entire afternoon just looking at fountain pens and ink bottles or flipping through books that spoke of poetry and love and loss.

• Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.

• Why doesn’t his heart let go? Why do some people stay lodged in our souls, stuck in our throats, imprinted in our minds?

• I don’t want you to think you have to be afraid of it. It’s just people. People like us. It’s all we have. You know?

• It was practically 1960, but it seemed that everywhere she went, male applicants got preference.

Honor

Author: Elif Shafak

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 out of 5

Pages: 352

Date Started: 12 August 2021

Date Finished: 26 August 2021

When the first sentence of the book reads 'My mother died twice', you know the book will swallow you! After reading '10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World' by Elif Shafak, I have fallen in love with her writing and the story narration. I like the way she writes about how women become victims of society captures the readers well. I synopsis of the book made me pick the book.

The story starts with Esma who is about to pick up her older brother Iskender, from prison for killing their mother in the name of honor. The narrative based on the mid-1970s talks about a Turkish family moving from Istanbul to England for a better future. Pembe and Jamila's mother who in order to have a boy, gave birth to eight girls. Pembe and Jamila being twins were named Pempe Kader (Pink Destiny) and Jamila Yeter (Enough Beauty). Pembe marries Adem Toprak and has three kids, Iskender, Esma, and Yunus.

Adem works in a factory and abandons his family for a stripper and for the money he has lost in gambling. Pembe tries to make ends meet while working at a hair salon and befriends Elias, who is a chef. Knowing this infuriates Iskander, who feels he is the man of the house after his father left. In a rage, Iskander kills Pembe, his own mother, and goes to jail. The story continues with the lives of Esma and Yunus, and Adem, who moved to the UAE for work. The story ends with Iskander being released from jail and Esma picking him up, but does he feel remorse for what he did?

Pembe throughout was my favorite character. She tries hard to adjust between the traditions she grew up with and the modern society she is living in. Pembe also tries hard to get everyone together but is out of luck when it comes to her husband Adem. Her struggle to make ends meet and get involved in the lives of her three kids is a struggle, but she never gives up hope. She also feels that she is wrong when she goes out with Elias but tries to look for happiness for herself, which she never had.

I was blown away by this book. It was a true page-turner. This book left a void! I wished the story continued. The story was not just about Pembe, but many of the women who are struggling to live in the patriarchal rules and society! The men are made heads of the families and make others follow the rules they have made, even though it is not fair to everyone. I felt that the story was also about an immigrant, trying to keep their language, culture, traditions, and rituals alive in a foreign land. The story was about marriage, differences, trying to save it at any cost, and life's failures.

It was heartbreaking to read about both Adem and Pembe dealing with their own griefs which they faced as children. Iskender, even though kills his mother in a rage, is confused about his decision. Esma, being the middle child and the only girl is torn between making peace with the fact that her brother tried to kill their mother and taking care of her younger brother Yunus. This was a heartbreaking story, which I felt was written with compassion and empathy. There was never a dull moment in the book and any unnecessary characters or events.

Favorite lines from the book:

• There have been many times when I have thought of killing him. I have also thought of forgiving him, fully and truly. In the end, I haven't achieved either.

• Mothers don't go to heaven when they die. They get special permission from God to stay around a bit longer and watch over their children, no matter what has passed between them in their brief mortal lives.

• Until that day, he hadn't known that you could love someone with all your heart and yet be ready to hurt them.

• Why couldn't human beings live and die where they were born?

• Coffee was like love, the more patient you were with it, the better it would taste.

• Sheitan waits don't he ledges to pull down whoever gets too close. Sheitan would clutch their ankles with his claws and yank them down into the emptiness below. Only cats survived because they had nine lives and could afford to die eight times.

• No matter what a con's age, his mother thinks he is a good boy corrupted by bad friends.

• Anger is toxic.

• Human nature being what it is, we hate most those we love most.