The Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali

In 1953 Iran, Roya meets the love of her life in a small stationary shop run by kindly Mr. Fakhri, amidst delicate writing paper, jeweled inks and stamps, and volumes of Persian poetry and translated novels. Bahman is also taken with her, but his mother has already promised him to another, a woman whose family is highly placed. Against his mother’s wishes, he became engaged to Roya but the volatile mother is set against the match. Amidst the changing political situation with the ouster of Prime Minister Mossadegh and the removal of the Shah, Roya and Bahman are parted, and soon after she receives a letter saying he is marrying the woman his mother chose for him. When an opportunity presents itself for Roya and her sister Zari to study in America, their parents send the two girls with their blessings. Years later Roya realizes Bahman, who established a stationary shop exactly like the one Mr. Fakhri owned not far from her home, had also immigrated to America and is now living in an assisted home. Should she confront him or let the past go? A bittersweet story of love and loss from a very talented writer.