The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
As part of my summer reading, I chose to read The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, primarily because I found the cover and the title to be more striking than the other options.
The novel follows the life of Ellie and her friend Homa from prior to post Iranian Revolution. Despite being best friends, Ellie and Homa are foils of each other. Ellie’s father was a cheater who died when she was 7, and her mother, who wanted several children but only had Ellie, blamed the evil eye for their misfortune. Contrastingly, Homa came from a loving family and had younger siblings. Also, Ellie is higher-classed, refined, and less outspoken than the politically active and self-determined Homa. The two meet in elementary school and reunite in high school. During a party, Ellie accidentally reveals Homa’s political activities to a SAVAK agent leading to her arrest, imprisonment and rape. Ellie attempts to reconcile with Homa after the child is born to no avail. Ellie’s husband gets a temporary position in NYC, however, that summer, Ellie’s mother encourages them to stay due to the volatile political situation in Iran. About a year after the revolution, Homa sends her daughter to the states to live with Ellie.
Overall, the book provided valuable insight into the circumstances preceding the Iranian Revolution. I liked that Kamali put dates into the different parts of the book so that it was easy to research additional historical context if necessary. I also like that while most of the book is narrated by Ellie, Kamali includes parts narrated by Homa or Bahar (her daughter) giving a fuller picture. This book is well written; I rate it 4.3/5.
Reviewed by Teen Volunteer, 6/18/2026.