The Lion Women of Tehran
From the moment Elaheh Soltani and Homa Roozbeh meet on the first day of school in 1950, they are inseparable. Together they explore Tehran’s markets, play hopscotch in its alleyways, learn cooking in the Roozbehs’ cozy kitchen, and dream about growing into the kind of women who can make Iran a better place. Although envious of Homa’s tight-knit family, her ambition, her authenticity, and her confidence in changing the world, Ellie finds strength in Homa’s friendship. But as political tensions in Iran rise, their paths begin to diverge. While Ellie plans for love and marriage, Homa throws herself into activism until a devastating event tears apart the once-inseparable friends. Years later, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Ellie and Homa reconnect from across the world, revealing long-held secrets, remorse, and acts of bravery.
The Lion Women of Tehran is a touching coming-of-age novel about friendship, courage, and the lengths to which we go to preserve both. Through lyrical, illuminating writing, Marjan Kamali brings to life the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of Tehran. She writes about the changes in Iran’s political and cultural landscape, but she writes about them very effectively from the perspective of two quite different women. Through Ellie and Homa, the reader viscerally feels how those changes silenced women’s voices, stifled their freedoms, and limited their options. Kamali threads the idea of lionesses (shir zan in Persian) throughout the book—strong and fierce Iranian women who leap unafraid into the future. Despite the turmoil and uncertainty of Iran in those decades, two hopeful girls indeed grow into shir zan and their journey makes this an exceptional book.
