{"product_id":"the-stationery-shop-9781982107499","title":"The Stationery Shop","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the award-nominated author of \u003ci\u003eTogether Tea \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Lion Women of Tehran, \u003c\/i\u003ea poignant, \"powerful\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e) and \"affecting novel about first love\" (\u003ci\u003eReal Simple\u003c\/i\u003e) that explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate\u003ci\u003e. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRoya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri's neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThen Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer--handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi's poetry--and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts--a result of the coup d'etat that forever changes their country's 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 on--to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England--until, 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?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKamali, Marjan:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Marjan Kamali, born in Turkey to Iranian parents, spent her childhood in Kenya, Germany, Turkey, Iran, and the United States. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Columbia University, and New York University. Her work has also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in two anthologies: \u003ci\u003eTremors\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLet Me Tell You Where I've Been\u003c\/i\u003e. An excerpt from \u003ci\u003eThe Stationery Shop\u003c\/i\u003e was published in \u003ci\u003eSolstice Literary Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut novel\u003ci\u003e Together Tea\u003c\/i\u003e was a Massachusetts Book Award Finalist, an NPR WBUR Good Read, and a Target Emerging Author Selection. Marjan lives with her husband and two children in the Boston area.","brand":"Gallery Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50580052672786,"sku":"9781982107499","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b9ef18c0-a782-4503-8169-5c34016a757d.jpg?v=1732007610","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-stationery-shop-9781982107499","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}