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Quick answer: If you loved Lion Women of Tehran, read Marjan Kamali's The Stationery Shop and Together Tea, then Reading Lolita in Tehran, Persepolis, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. All are moving stories of friendship, family and women's lives in Iran and Afghanistan.
Marjan Kamali's 2022 novel follows Ladan and Homa, two girls who meet in Tehran in the 1950s and whose friendship is tested across decades of revolution, betrayal and exile. It is warm, sad and rich in period detail. The books below offer similar stories of friendship, family and life under political upheaval.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Stationery Shop | Marjan Kamali | Adult | more Kamali |
| Together Tea | Marjan Kamali | Adult | immigrant family |
| Reading Lolita in Tehran | Azar Nafisi | Adult | memoir of books |
| Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi | Adult | graphic memoir |
| The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | Adult | friendship and guilt |
| A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini | Adult | women in Afghanistan |
| And the Mountains Echoed | Khaled Hosseini | Adult | family across generations |
| Funny in Farsi | Firoozeh Dumas | Adult | comic memoir |
| Prisoner of Tehran | Marina Nemat | Adult | memoir |
| Pachinko | Min Jin Lee | Adult | epic family saga |
| The Henna Artist | Alka Joshi | Adult | women in India |
| Snow Flower and the Secret Fan | Lisa See | Adult | women's friendship |
| The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett | Adult | identity and sisters |
| The Language of Flowers | Vanessa Diffenbaugh | Adult | healing through flowers |
| The Bookseller of Kabul | Asne Seierstad | Adult | family in Kabul |
1. The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali
A romance in 1953 Tehran is broken apart by political events. Elegant and heartfelt.
Best for: more Kamali.
2. Together Tea by Marjan Kamali
A mother and daughter try to arrange a marriage in New York. Warm, funny and sweet.
Best for: immigrant family.
3. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
A professor secretly teaches Western novels to students in Iran. Thoughtful and personal.
Best for: memoir of books.
4. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
A girl grows up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Funny, sad and brilliant.
Best for: graphic memoir.
5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Two boys in Kabul are separated by betrayal. Emotional and widely read.
Best for: friendship and guilt.
6. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Two women's lives intertwine across decades of war. Heartbreaking and powerful.
Best for: women in Afghanistan.
7. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Linked stories follow a family across continents. Quiet and moving.
Best for: family across generations.
8. Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Dumas recalls growing up as an Iranian immigrant in California. Light and charming.
Best for: comic memoir.
9. Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat
A teenage girl is imprisoned and tortured in Iran's Evin prison. Harrowing and brave.
Best for: memoir.
10. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
A Korean family lives in Japan across four generations. Sweeping and deeply felt.
Best for: epic family saga.
11. The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
A henna artist in 1950s Jaipur serves wealthy clients and keeps secrets. Warm and rich.
Best for: women in India.
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Two girls in nineteenth-century China are bound by a secret language. Moving and well researched.
Best for: women's friendship.
13. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Twin sisters take separate paths, one passing as white. Deeply felt.
Best for: identity and sisters.
14. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
A foster child uses the Victorian language of flowers to connect. Gentle and moving.
Best for: healing through flowers.
15. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
A journalist lives with a bookseller's family in Kabul. Fascinating and complicated.
Best for: family in Kabul.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Lion Women of Tehran: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For more Kamali begin with The Stationery Shop. For Iranian stories pick Persepolis, Reading Lolita in Tehran or Funny in Farsi. For Afghan stories read The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns. For women's friendship try Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. For sweeping sagas read Pachinko. Lion Women of Tehran is emotional, so these picks suit readers who like long friendships and historical change. Marjan Kamali was born in Turkey to Iranian parents and raised in Iran and the US, and she draws on that background for her fiction. Her books are a good entry point for readers new to Iranian history. Readers drawn to Iran's history might pair this novel with nonfiction or graphic memoirs, which add context for the political events in the book. Readers drawn to the friendship will love Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and The Vanishing Half. Book clubs often choose Kamali's novels for their warmth and depth, and audiobooks are well narrated.
Related: 15 Books Like Little Women You’ll Love: Sisters, Families and Classic Stories · The Women by Kristin Hannah Book Club Discussion Questions (With Summary and Themes)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lion Women of Tehran about?
A lifelong friendship between two women from very different families in Iran.
Who wrote it?
Marjan Kamali.
When was it published?
2022.
Is it historical fiction?
Yes, spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s.
Is it a sad book?
It has sad and tense moments, but also warmth.
Is it a standalone?
Yes.
Is it a quick read?
Yes, about 350 pages.
What should I read next?
Try The Stationery Shop.
Is Lion Women of Tehran about politics?
It touches on political change, but the focus is friendship and family.
Is the ending hopeful?
It is bittersweet, with a sense of reconciliation.