Book Review: The Lion Women of Tehran

The Lion Women of Tehran
By Marjan Kamali
Review by Kazia

This book was one of those powerful reads that sit with you long after you have finished. Kamali’s beautiful prose provided the perfect conduit for this tale of friendship and resistance amidst a dangerously shifting political landscape. The waxing and waning nature of Ellie and Homa’s friendship made it feel all the more important for how it reflected the fragility of childhood connections yet also their capability for endurance in spite of drifting interests, life upheavals, and class division. I appreciated the author’s decision to write the majority of the narrative from the perspective of the privileged, though well-meaning, Ellie, forcing the reader to confront such privilege through the character’s reluctant reckoning with it. This book was also a love letter to Iranian food and culture and most importantly its people. A beautiful, if heart-rending, read.

Perfect for fans of My Friends by Hisham Matar and Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad.