Dear Bookclub,
Homa and Ellie ignited our imaginations, delivering a Tehran unfamiliar to our group through the story of a friendship woven over thirty years. The influences, both women's history as we know it and the unique experience of the Iranian environment during that period, were deftly crafted into Marjan Kamali's well-liked novel, "The Lion Women of Tehran".
Meanwhile, another friendship woven over decades was ours to enjoy as Cheri Navidi and Jacky Izadi joined our groups and shared stories. Both being married to Iranian engineers, their insights into the Persian culture widened our impressions, deepened our understandings, and frankly, entertained us. Many thanks to Julie for arranging their attending and huge gratitude to both women for being our noble speakers!
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| Jacky and Cheri |
Blending my two bookclubs is always a cause for celebration. The luncheon delightfully brought me the opportunity to try relevant recipes the author shared (see link below) and revisit the significance of food in the novel.
https://marjankamali.com/wp-content/uploads/Recipe-Booklet_LION-WOMEN-OF-TEHRAN_Kamali-Marjan.pdf
Kamali's passion for Persian food surfaces in her inclusion of two food blogs she shared in the interview link below. As a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, Marjan Kamali is interviewed in the link, discussing her novel, "The Stationery Shop". Please enjoy listening to her talk about the Persian culture and "the centrality of poetry in the lives of Iranians and Iranian-Americans, living on the hyphen between Iranian and American, her plans for the 2022 NEA Literature Fellowship, and the absolute joy of writing about the food at the heart of Persian culture".
https://www.arts.gov/stories/podcast/marjan-kamali
Apologies for inadequate photography of our event - never my strong suit! But here is a smattering to remember the day:
Up next:
Happy reading,
LK
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