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‘The Stationery Shop of Tehran’ by Marjan Kamali is one of the most beautiful books I’ve read. The writing is gorgeous. The plot is gripping, even though it reads a little like one of the countless Bollywood movies I’ve watched. The characters are well-crafted. You become so deeply invested in their lives that it’s difficult not to think about them every waking minute while reading the book and for a long time after you are done. I have recommended and gifted the book to a lot of relatives and friends and they have all had really good things to say about it. 

‘The Lion Women of Tehran’ is Kamali’s recent release which follows the lives of two girls Ellie and Homa from 1950 to 2022. In the 1950s, seven-year-old Ellie lived comfortably with her parents till the death of her father forced her mother to move to a tiny home. She is sent to the local school where she befriends a curly headed girl named Homa whose father is a waiter at a hotel. Ellie’s mother doesn’t like her being friends with ‘commoners’ as she is a ‘direct descendent of the royals.’ In an attempt to ensure Ellie has a privileged upbringing, her mother takes a bold step. Their lives change. For the better, this time. 

Soon Ellie forgets all about Homa, despite vehement promises to stay in touch and be friends for life. A few years later, Homa comes back into Ellie’s life, when Ellie would rather keep her past and present separate. However, soon the two pick up where they left off till things ultimately unravel because of an innocent mistake on Ellie’s part during the political turmoil in Iran. But its repercussions span generations and Ellie carries the guilt with her for the most part of her life.

Ellie and Homa are both great characters. They feel like people you know. Even the side characters like Ellie’s mother, uncle, and a few friends have been well fleshed out. It lends a real feel to the story. There is friendship, drama, love, family and political issues in the plot with friendship taking center stage. It’s fun, heartwarming, and a smooth read which reminds you of the value of the people you meet early on in life. It’s also a book about courage and being true to yourself despite your circumstances. All in all, I think it’s a great book that you shouldn’t miss out on. 

Fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199798217-the-lion-women-of-tehran 

The Lion Women of Tehran

Marjan Kamali

Published: 2024 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Pages: 327, Paperback

I love thrillers. It’s the genre I most gravitate towards. It gives me an adrenaline rush that feels so good. Mysteries are what I pick up when I’m not in the mood for heavy stories that get me all riled up, struggling to get a hold on my emotions. The thing about mysteries and thrillers, however, is that the more you read, the more you are able to predict the course of the story. You start seeing a pattern and then it takes a lot to catch you by surprise.

But there are some books and authors who are really the master of their crafts. Reading them always makes me marvel over their talent. Their works are gripping and full of twists and turns. No matter how many thrillers I have read, I have never been able to guess the ending. This week, I’m sharing three of my favorite thrillers and authors hoping you will love them as much as I do, and that they will bring you some respite when you need it the most.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

‘The Housemaid’ by Frieda McFadden follows a struggling young woman who makes a fresh start by working as a housemaid to a wealthy, upscale couple. But little does she know that the family isn’t as perfect as it seems. But Millie too has secrets of her own. The Housemaid has two more books in the series. It’s a taut thriller that made me anxious for the characters. Unlike most thrillers, here the characters aren’t black and white. Everyone has good and bad points and you struggle to decide whose side you are on. I could never really make up my mind. Besides The Housemaid series, McFadden has many other thrillers to her credit. Her novels have been translated into more than 30 languages.

 The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

My husband and I both love Keigo Higashino. The Japanese author is a phenomenal writer whose stories are crafted with an unmatched precision. ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ sold more than two million copies in Higashino’s native Japan, becoming what the English translation calls a ‘national obsession’. The premise of the book is how a mathematical genius uses his abilities to save the woman he is secretly in love with from being arrested for murder. There’s even a movie adaptation of the book starring Kareena Kapoor. The book is a thriller that has many elements of a love story as well. After the popularity of The Devotion of Suspect X, many of Higashino’s other works have been translated into English. ‘Malice’ and ‘A Midsummer’s Equation’ are two other titles that I found to be hugely entertaining.

 The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

I love this book for its dark vibes. The novel is set in Paris and follows a young woman, Jess, as she investigates the disappearance of her half-brother, Ben. In doing so, she uncovers the many secrets of the residents living in the same apartment building as her brother. The novel is fast paced and the ending is a bit predictable but that doesn’t take away from its atmospheric setting that sucks you in from the first page. I’m a huge fan of Lucy Foley. Her books stress me out. I feel like I’m the one who’s trapped in the difficult situations Foley builds in her stories. ‘The Hunting Party’ and ‘The Guest List’ were suspenseful and kept me up at night. The Paris Apartment also makes for a fascinating exploration of life and culture in Paris.

“The Selfish Gene” by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explores the idea that the fundamental unit of survival in living organisms is the gene. Genes are the organic replicators that inhabit every living creature on Earth, and their primary mechanism for survival is by passing from parent to offspring through sexual or asexual reproduction. While genes are not conscious entities, their influence on organisms often makes them seem like master strategists.

One striking example from the book involves the parasitic behavior of cuckoo birds, which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, like robins. The cuckoo egg is cleverly disguised to resemble the host bird’s eggs. The unsuspecting host incubates the egg, and once it hatches, the cuckoo chick instinctively pushes the host’s real eggs out of the nest, ensuring it receives all the parental care and resources. Though this happens unconsciously, natural selection has favored the genes that enable these behaviors in cuckoos, ensuring their survival and propagation. Cuckoos that failed to disguise their eggs did not survive to pass on their genes. This process of differential survival based on fitness to the environment has driven the evolution of the vast diversity in appearance and behavior among living beings.

The book also challenges the popular but misleading view that evolution favors traits that benefit the group or species as a whole. For instance, when a prey bird spots a predator and sounds an alarm, it seems like an act of group altruism. However, this behavior also increases the caller's own safety, as the alarm may confuse the predator and make it harder to locate any single bird. The alarm call itself has evolved to be difficult for predators to pinpoint. Thus, the "selfish" genes that promote such behavior have outcompeted those that favored less effective strategies. The concept of the "selfish gene" offers a simpler explanation for complex behaviors, which the more chaotic and diverse “good of the species” view struggles to address.

Organisms often care for their kin because, from a genetic perspective, ensuring the survival and reproduction of kin is another way to propagate one’s own genes. Kin share a greater proportion of genes with each other than with unrelated individuals. On average, an organism shares half its genes with its offspring and siblings, a quarter with its grandchildren, nieces, or nephews, and so on. This genetic relatedness explains the evolution of kin altruism.

No discussion of evolution would be complete without addressing the intriguing phenomenon of sexual selection, which the book covers in detail. The fundamental genetic difference between males and females relates to sexual reproduction. Female sexual genes, like eggs, are larger and fewer in number, making them a valuable resource for which male sperm must compete. The ultimate goal of every gene is not just to create offspring but to ensure that the offspring survive to adulthood and reproduce, continuing the gene line. This creates a value in caring for offspring, leading to sexual conflict.

For males, it is advantageous to produce as many offspring as possible while leaving the burden of care to someone else. However, females, who often carry the offspring within their bodies, are under evolutionary pressure to choose males likely to contribute to child-rearing. This has led to various courting rituals across the animal kingdom, ranging from nest-building and food-sharing to elaborate dances and displays of plumage.

Dawkins approaches the topic with a first-principles mindset, questioning even the most basic premises, such as why bodies exist at all, why there is such variation between males and females, and why females bear offspring instead of males. The seemingly cold and heartless outcomes of natural selection are balanced by the success of strategies like tit-for-tat, where mutual cooperation can evolve. Nature seems to achieve a balance approaching fairness, shaped by the competition between selfish genes.

This book is considered a significant contribution to evolutionary biology, a field that has been controversial since Darwin's “The Origin of Species.” Beyond its scientific insights, “The Selfish Gene” is also a pleasure to read, filled with engaging anecdotes and examples from nature, all presented in a fluid and accessible style.

A good cry can be therapeutic. Sometimes you don’t know you needed it till you end up bawling your eyes out. I find myself unburdened whenever I cry. It’s like a load is lifted off my heart. But I’m not someone who cries easily so whenever a book makes me cry it immediately makes it to my favorites list. 

One of the reasons why I love sad books is because they make me feel these emotions that I perhaps wouldn’t otherwise. I know it might sound silly to some of you but a whirlpool of mixed feelings can actually give you a fresh new perspective in life. So, grab some tissues and settle in for the weekend because the books I’m recommending this week will break your heart into a million little pieces. 

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

This book made me sob—in private, and in public. I might not have actually sobbed in public but I did cry at work because I couldn’t reign in my emotions. It’s a book I wouldn’t recommend to anyone (and I actually mean that in a good way) because it wrecks you. Critics have called ‘A Little Life’ ‘a tour de force’, and ‘a masterwork,’. When it was published in 2015, it was discussed as the most ambitious chronicle of the social and emotional lives of gay men. It’s Yanagihara’s second novel and it chronicles the lives of four college friends and how their friendship evolves over the years. You meet JB, who is an artist; Malcolm, an architect; Willem, an actor; and Jude who is a lawyer. They become your friends and you just get so invested in their lives that you are unable to put the thick volume down. The way the plot sucks you in speaks volumes about the writer’s talent. It’s a book that will stay in your mind long after you have finished it. 

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

‘We All Want Impossible Things’ is essentially a book about death. But the story has a touch of humor that makes you laugh through your tears. Newman talks about death without making it seem like a dark, ominous presence. Despite a painful backdrop, it’s a cozy and comforting read. The story is about two childhood friends Edith and Ashley as they grapple with the former’s cancer prognosis. Edi and Ash have shared everything. They have seen each other through heartbreaks, family issues, marriages, divorce, childbirth among other gazillion issues of life. They complete each other. But now things are changing and neither of them is ready for it. Newman’s debut adult novel will make you cry and want to hug everybody close to you. It’s a slim volume but you will want to take your time and savor the story and the brilliantly crafted characters. There’s also a lot to unpack here. I found myself putting the book down to take in what I had read and think things through. 

Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major 

You get a strong sense of how the story ends right from the beginning even though nothing is given away that early or even more than halfway through the book. But ‘Maybe Next Time’ by Cesca Major keeps you hooked because of its gorgeous writing and plot. It’s a wonderful story about second chances and prioritizing what you value in life before it’s too late that made me cry at the very end. I thought I wouldn’t but I did. I could see what was coming and even though it was expected, I wasn’t prepared for it. The story is about a literary agent named Emma Jacobs who finds herself stuck in a time loop. The same day keeps repeating itself but the outcome is always the same. Will she be able to fix her mistake so she can save the one she loves? The element of magical realism keeps things interesting and the protagonist is so well crafted that her problems become your problems, and you want to be able to fix them all.