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book status: The Lion Women of Tehran — Marjan Kamali

music status: incomplete

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cover for The Lion Women of Tehran

The Lion Women of Tehran

Marjan Kamali

date read: 2024/08/02

author from location book (partly) set in location character from location
Coming-of-age to political drama, sorta— heartwarming and heartbreaking, in turn. Covers the political turmoil of the 1950s through current times, the bizarre alignment of anti-shah sentiment (pro-self-government, I think, against colonial influence) with the rise of religious fundamentalism, and the backward slide of civil rights. I appreciated and learned a lot from reading about how secular much of the population was, and it makes the religious oppression all the more painful.

Also read: Martyr — Kaveh Akbar (08/2024)

  • I had been looking forward to this book for awhile based on early reviews, and was somewhat disappointed (especially at the beginning, the main character Cyrus was portrayed as rather unsympathetic, which made me annoyed rather than interested in his internal plight). As a result, I didn’t pay that close attention to the first 2/3 or so of the book, so take my opinion with a grain of salt! However, once Cyrus made his trip to Brooklyn, I felt more invested in his story, and appreciated the dynamics of his relationships and the dramatic reveal and subsequent conclusion. Overall, would recommend if you can get through to the good part!
  • I resonated a lot with Cyrus’s conflicting extreme hopelessness (to the point of passive suicidal thoughts) and desire to leave a mark on the world (to be a martyr), and then the guilt that follows over the self-importance that making such an impact assumes.
  • It was interesting to read this right after The Lion Women of Tehran, which covered some of the same events (Iran-Iraq war, etc.) but from a different vantage point. Despite the differences in characters and their proximity to the conflicts, there was a common theme of a their deep love & connection to their Iranian heritage and the pain/betrayal (? not sure if these are the right words) from the actions of the political elite. Just another reminder that “the people” are not represented by the most extreme, and in fact may be the ones most hurt by them.