The Stationery Shop

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

Rights sold: World English, Arabic, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Holland, Israel, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Turkey

Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhris neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink. Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customerhandsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumis poetryand she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran. A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence eruptsa result of the coup detat that forever changes their countrys future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves onto college in California, to another man, to a life in New Englanduntil, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?

Praise -----------------------------------------------------------------

"Spanning decades and continents, Marjan Kamalis richly imagined novel immerses us in the blossoming love affair between two Iranian teenagers, set against the political upheaval of 1950s Tehran. Evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful, THE STATIONERY SHOP explores loves power to transcend time and distanceand the ways fate can tear people apart and bring them back together. This book broke my heart again and again." --Whitney Scharer, author of THE AGE OF

"[A] moving tale of lost love." --The Wall Street Journal

"Marjan Kamali weaves a powerful, heartbreaking story of star-crossed lovers and Iran's political upheavals...The Stationery Shop is at once a layered historical saga of a country struggling toward democracy and an intimate meditation on a love from which we never recover."
 --Shelf Awareness

"LIGHT Kamali paints an evocative portrait of 1950s Iran and its political upheaval, and she cleverly writes the heartbreak of Roya and Bahmans romance to mirror the tragic recent history of their country. Simultaneously briskly paced and deeply moving, this will appeal to fans of Khaled Hosseini and should find a wide audience." --Booklist

"A sweeping romantic tale of thwarted love." --Kirkus Reviews

"A beautifully immersive tale, THE STATIONERY SHOP 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

"The unfurling stories in Kamalis sophomore novel (after Together Tea) will stun readers as the aromas of Persian cooking wafting throughout convince us that love can last a lifetime. For those who enjoy getting caught up in romance while discovering unfamiliar history of another country."  --Library Journal

"A big, ambitious, beautifully executed novel that draws the reader in and never lets go." --The Santa Barbara Independent

"Grab your tissues . . . Marjan Kamalis second novel channels love in the time of coup détats. Set among the political upheaval of 1950s Tehran, The Stationery Shop follows teenager Roya as she discovers the power of love, loss, and then, decades later, fate. And did we mention youll need tissues?" --Boston Magazine

"I! Am! Obsessed! With! This! Book! . . . Think The Notebook, only better (no offense, Ryan Gosling)."  --COSMOPOLITAN.COM

"Set against the political turmoil of 1950's Tehran, Marjan Kamali's THE STATIONERY SHOP illuminates how love is experienced over time and influenced by the fingerprints of others. Yet. despite every obstacle, the power of heart and memory endure. A beautiful and sensitive novel that I loved from the first page." --Alyson Richman, international bestselling author of THE LOST WIFE and THE SECRET OF CLOUDS