Thank you to Gallery Books for sending me a gifted copy. This also contains affiliate links from Bookshop.org, where I will earn a commission from qualifying purchases (at no additional cost to you).
Upon opening The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali and flipping through the first few pages of front matter, you’ll land upon the dedication page.
Dedicated to the brave women of Iran.
Honest and powerful—the perfect way to set the novel’s tone and honor the fictional and real-world brave women of Iran tirelessly fighting for their basic freedoms. Being Iranian-American and coexisting with an augmented and confusing diasporic frame of mind, novels like this one will always have a special place in my heart. I could dissect this dedication for hours.
The story, while serious and political, is at its heart about female friendship. Two very different characters navigate socioeconomics, girlhood, and progressive ideals together and apart. Perfectly tender and serious, we fall in love with (and yes, even be frustrated by) Kamali’s notoriously nuanced, realistic characters. Her novels guarantee a rollercoaster of emotions, and this absolutely delivers.
Published on July 2, 2024, I was so thankful to receive my copy two weeks early, and the dying animal noise that left my body out of excitement when I opened this package is much funnier in hindsight. This was my most-anticipated novel of the year as her previous novel, The Stationery Shop, is genuinely one of my all-time favorites. To also see this receive national marketing by being one of June’s Book of the Month selections was incredibly heartening considering the rampant xenophobia and Islamophobia. I hope every reader walked away wanting to learn more about the women in Iran, and can find ways to be a Lion Woman in their own life, too.
Also, this is the first Discussion Guide where I felt my responses could have been essays (in part because there were so many sub-questions within the main question). It has me wondering if this newsletter is the best medium for these responses. Not to worry—I’m not going anywhere! But I have toyed with the idea of adding audio to make it feel like more of a conversation, like a newsletter/Podcast crossover if you will. I know Substack has a Podcast feature, but I’m not sure if I want to fully depart from the article format. So for now and the near future, we’re going to remain in writing. If you have any opinions on future formats, please comment or DM me!
This is your warning now to save this post and come back to it later if you want to avoid any spoilers. And please look up Content Warnings on The StoryGraph.
Synopses
In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation.
Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming “lion women.”
But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.
Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.
Written with Marjan Kamali’s signature “evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful” (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light) prose, The Lion Women of Tehran is a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young, and the way love and courage transforms our lives.
Discussion Guide
The questions from the publisher’s official guide can be found, here.
1. The book opens from Ellie’s point of view in 1980s New York City. What are some observations she has about the city? What does this tell you about how she sees herself there? Discuss how she describes New York in the first chapter and in Part Five compared to how she describes Tehran. What are the differences?
Her initial reactions to NYC felt hopeful, like she had a new identity as an American and finally found her new footing, but when she encountered the unhoused woman, she’s reminded of her past (we don’t know in what capacity at the time, of course, but we knew it was significant). Compared with Part Five, we learn that Ellie was actually depressed and scared in a new, big, overwhelming city, and that her Chapter One self actually took a long time to become. Truthfully, I liked how Chapter One was included, but reading it back, it didn’t feel like the same character we came to know. Maybe that was the point, but it felt disjointed.
In comparing Tehran to NYC, it was consistently bittersweet—she’s longing for a familiar home that’s becoming increasingly unrecognizable, while in a foreign city full of possibility.
2. How would you describe the city of Tehran during Ellie and Homa’s childhoods? What feelings does it invoke? How was Tehran different for both girls before they lived in the same neighborhood?
During their childhood, the city of Tehran is depicted how it used to be, and it feels equally vibrant and humble, hopeful and nostalgic. I think the writing and descriptions honor memories of the city, almost like a love letter for those now in the diaspora, longing for a physical and cultural return. I think for people who are unfamiliar with Iranian history, it might surprise them to hear it was a normal, progressive city and country.
Their views of Tehran are direct reflections of their socioeconomic status, which contributes to their outlooks on life/their potential. Ellie was financially privileged, so she was sheltered in knowing what life is like outside of her bubble, whereas with Homa, there was always a spark and fire within her to make her circumstances better for herself and her family because they were poor. Her potential existed outside of her neighborhood and financial status. I also think Homa is able to enjoy the hidden gems of the city, like the bazaar, because she’s nonjudgmental and open to adventures the city has to offer.
3. Ellie’s mother has an obsession with the evil eye. Where do you believe this originates? What effect do you think this has on Ellie’s mother’s outlook on life, and how might it affect Ellie as she grows up?
The evil eye is an ancient superstition and people who are more conservative, like Ellie’s mom, are more likely to abide by outdated traditions. In the story, it originated as a wivestale that eventually spiraled into obsession—first as a distraction from how her husband truly was to a coping mechanism to broad excuses. She clung to anything to make sense of her reality, and that habitual blaming of the evil eye—no matter the topic or situation—never went away. The evil eye obsession became so extreme that it prevented Ellie from having the mother-daughter relationship she always wanted.
4. Ellie spends much of her childhood mourning her father’s death. How does her image of him compare to the man Ellie’s mother reveals him to be later in the book? How does Ellie’s relationship with her mother change once she finds out? How does this help explain Ellie’s mother’s actions throughout the book?
I’m not sure I found the revelation of the father’s true self to be necessary to the story, as I don’t think it changed much. Though the mother did struggle with depression, what was more revealing was how she was still vain, emotionally unavailable, and classist even when mentally healthy. I don’t think her behavior is justified, again, as nothing changed. She allowed Ellie to keep a positive image of who she thought her dad was, but when the truth is revealed to Ellie, her memory of him was already fading so much so, that I think it made her sad and surprised and unable to process that information. Being liberated of that secret—not the secret itself—allowed for Ellie to get somewhat closer to her mom. Ultimately, it felt too little too late in my opinion.
Side note, I don’t say this to minimize the abuse the mom faced at the hands of the dad. I didn’t like any of their marriage included in the story because it wasn’t necessary or a believable character motivation.
5. How would you describe how Ellie’s mother thinks of Homa? Why do you think she feels this way? How does this foreshadow what happens later in the book?
It’s clear to us readers that Homa, in the mother’s eyes, is the personification of their poverty. I think (again, regardless of what the dad did) the mom is insecure and caught up in material wealth. I know the author writes every character with compassion, but I’m having hard time finding love and compassion for the mom. I don’t think it foreshadows really anything in the book, but it does allow us to see how Ellie fell into the trap of: the more you hear it the more you start to believe it yourself. The influence of her mother’s attitude toward Homa, mixed with Ellie’s own insecurity, created petty conclusions that led to a devastating domino effect.
6. Seven years pass between Part One and Part Two, and we find Ellie at an upscale school in a nice neighborhood with a new group of friends. How has her life changed, and how have her relationships changed, or stayed the same?
It’s pretty obvious that everything in her life changed because of their raised social status and financial stability. They’re rich and not just monetarily privileged, but socially privileged. They don’t have to think too deeply about things, and they can just live their comfortable lives remaining happy with the status quo. Ellie has new friends, and they’re very close, but it’s not the same kind of uninhibited joy like she had with Homa. I think the only thing that stays the same is her mom’s condescending attitude towards those who are less fortunate than them. And no amount of money can buy Ellie the relationship she wants with her mom, or remove the demons her mom has.
7. Describe the role politics in Iran plays throughout the book. How does it propel the plot forward? Does is function as a main character? How do the characters interact with politics, and how does it shape their futures?
I don’t necessarily see politics as a main character in the story, but rather a visible invisible string—a puppet master if you will. A lot of the decisions that characters make are in reaction to the government, making it go hand-in-hand with socioeconomic statue. Homa is poor, but politically active and passionate about the desires she has for her country, whereas Ellie, who was privileged, was comfortable and able to have a safe, uneventful, risk-averse life. Their class status affects their politics, which affects their motivations, which affects their reactions, which affects their actions.
8. Two themes of the book are betrayal and jealousy. How was this explored throughout the book (i.e. between characters, through the setting, between social classes, in politics, etc.)? Were there instances of betrayal that surprised you?
I think the most interesting case of jealousy in the novel is within friendship. I think Ellie’s jealousy is a little more, I don’t think sinister is the right word, but her attitude is negative and toxic to the point where she started seeing things that weren’t actually happening. Her toxic jealousy made her make incorrect assumptions with devastating consequences. With Homa, I don’t even feel like she was truly jealous of Ellie, but rather motivated to achieve the same status. She operates to provide stability, rather than superficial wealth.
I also don’t think any of the betrayals really surprised me because they were very in line with the characters, and while the results of some betrayals are absolutely heartbreaking, again, I don’t find it surprising because it’s a horrendous reality in real life.
9. Homa’s experience in prison devastated her plans and set her on a new trajectory for the rest of her life. What might have happened if she was not imprisoned and r*ped? How might her life have turned out differently? Would Homa and Ellie have remained friends?
For their friendship, I think Ellie and Homa would’ve naturally drifted away, or it would’ve been the same as it was in university—they were close, but you could already feel the distance between them. Sometimes they were friends out of loyalty, rather than enjoyment of each other’s company. I think what happened with Homa is a far too real, where the most deserving, hardworking people have the most to lose, and do so because of quick, simple, unlikely mistakes often at the hands of someone else. Their devastation almost always has nothing to do with them. I found that loss of Homa’s potential, for not being able to achieve something she wanted her whole life, to be the most painful part of the book. Her future was so clearly defined, so we all knew exactly what she was losing.
10. Part Four opens from Homa’s point of view. How are her and Ellie’s voices different? Discuss how the author uses shifting points of view as a plot device and what it adds to the narrative.
I don’t necessarily know that we needed the point of view switch, because I don’t think it moved the story along in a traditional sense. Giving us readers knowledge before other characters, increased the tension and stakes, but I don’t think it helped us move from Plot A to Plot B. Homa’s characterization was already done so well, even without being in her head, so her POV confirmed what we already knew of her personality and filled in plot gaps. It also doubled down on the stark differences between Ellie and Homa.
11. Homa talks about growing up to be “lion women” throughout the book. How would you describe “lion women,” and how do Homa and Ellie understand the idea? How might it apply to women in general?
I don’t think the definition and description of what it means to be a lion woman needs to be changed, and I accept and agree with how it’s stated in the book. I think Homa saw being Lion Women as an achievable goal and motivation towards that, and Ellie saw it more as aspirational or wishful thinking. To Homa it also manifests as a mantra both when she’s younger desiring change, and then again when she’s older and rebuilds her life after unspeakable loss. Ellie’s more passive, so she always needed encouragement to be brave. It also felt like she knew it was more so of an appropriate description for Homa than herself. Not to say Ellie isn’t brave in her own ways, but is a more subtle Lion Woman.
12. Discuss the romantic relationships throughout the book. Mehrdad and Ellie, Homa and Abdol, Ellie’s mother and Ellie’s baba, Ellie’s mother and Uncle Massoud, Sousan and the Colonel, and so on. How do these relationships demonstrate gender and societal norms in Iran from the 1950s to the 1980s? Do any of them subvert traditional gender roles? How?
I think this is a very loaded question and answering all of the sub-questions could have us be here for ages. In general, every relationship did and did not maintain traditional values in varying degrees—Ellie’s uncle was progressive towards women’s education, Mehrdad was an egalitarian husband while being the breadwinner, and Abdol sacrificed his own stricter beliefs out of the pure love for Homa to help restore her dignity after becoming a social pariah. I thought the supporting cast of male characters in this novel was done very well, and I liked the nuance and balance between traditional and non-traditional customs.
13. The author explores the bonds between mother and daughter throughout the book. Discuss the mother-daughter relationships for each character and what they have in common.
As with the previous question, there are too many ways to fully answer this, and I think comparing the relationships does a disservice to the intentions of each pairing. The three very distinct mother-daughter relationships—Ellie/her mom, Homa/her mom, Homa/her daughter (Bahar)—all explore how the same relationship can be drastically different. It’s even more powerful as all three exist in the same space of this novel. At their core, Ellie’s mom was emotionally unavailable and toxic, Homa and her mom had a loving and openly affectionate mother to where it borderline felt like friendship, and Bahar had Homa be her fierce protector with more defined parent-child roles. Of course each relationship changes and roles within roles get redefined, but as a girl mom with a close relationship ship with my mom, I really enjoyed the thorough explorations of mother and daughters.
14. In the final chapter and epilogue, we fast forward to 2022 and find out that Homa remained in Iran to fight for women’s freedoms, and Ellie followed her dream of opening an Iranian cafe in America. How do these two women embody what it means to be Lion Women? How do they reflect on their pasts, and what do you think their hopes are for their futures?
I think for Ellie, it means still carrying on and doing the best you can even when you feel helpless, and for Homa, she’s fully embodying the fierce determination of fighting for what’s right no matter what. The Epilogue was incredibly bittersweet and makes you think of all of the different ways in which there are obvious and simple ways to be a Lion Woman.
There are two additional questions to ‘Enhance Your Book Club’, which I’ve included below in case you’d like them for your own reflections, but I won’t be answering them.
1. Before the Islamic Revolution, women in Iran enjoyed many liberal freedoms that Western women are familiar with. What did you know about Iran before reading this book, and how have these characters and their stories changed your understanding? Now, Mahsa Amini has inspired another generation of Iranian women to protest and fight against oppression. What role do women play in political movements around the world? How much has changed since Ellie and Homa’s childhoods in Iran, and what has remained the same?
2. This book is propelled by relationships between women. Describe those relationships and compare them to each other. Do you see relationships like these in your own life? What makes relationships between women special?
In Summation
On the five star rating scale, this is landing at a four for me. While I loved the themes, and again, Kamali’s character work is unmatched, I think my high expectations led me to be overly critical. Maybe that isn’t fair to the novel, or maybe it’s because the more I’m reading, the more I’m sharpening my standards. While my main critiques rest in the need for tighter editing, as I found it to be unnecessarily repetitive and inconsistent in pacing, the writing also felt guided towards a more general audience of readers who might have never read from this author, or about Iranian stories, before. And even though I’m biased towards The Stationery Shop (and do still prefer it more to this one), I never felt like I was comparing the two novels to each other—the two novels are apples to oranges. I don’t think I’m disappointed, I’m more so surprised there’s a noticeable amount I would technically change.
Regardless, I do absolutely still recommend this book as I think it’s timeless while being timely. Zan, Zendegi, Azadi.
If you read this novel, what did you think? What did you rate it? Are there any details from these questions missed? Would love to know!
ICYMI
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I just finished reading this book: a first from the author, and I loved it.
I really enjoyed the characterization contrasts of both the protagonists: Ellie and Homa, and how their friendship transforms- from strangers to best friends, their highs and lows. Reminded me about my friendships.
Most importantly, the historical plot of Iran, through which the themes unfold, stood out for me. ❤️