The Lion Women of Tehran Audiobook By Marjan Kamali cover art

The Lion Women of Tehran

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From nationally bestselling author Marjan Kamali, this perfect book club read is “evocative...and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism” (People) set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran.

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams for a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.”

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.

Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.

“Reminiscent of The Kite Runner and My Brilliant Friend, The Lion Women of Tehran is a mesmerizing tale” (BookPage) of love and courage, and a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young.

Accolades & Awards

Most Popular
20th Century Emotionally Gripping Historical Fiction Islamic Heritage Iran Friendship Women's Fiction Heartfelt Middle East Inspiring Genre Fiction

Critic reviews

"Mozhan Navabi performs this audiobook with the right tone and tempo. She narrates crisply and captures the guilt-ridden Ellie, who is tormented by her past. Ellie’s best friend, political activist Homa, is voiced with a younger sound and tone (by Nikki Massoud). Her voice is fitting for the youthful Iranian revolutionary who champions women’s rights and democracy and is jailed and abused for her beliefs."
Compelling Friendship Story • Rich Historical Context • Excellent Narration • Emotional Depth • Educational Content

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
Why o why can't we get narrators that can pronounce words in Farsi correctly? The person narrating Elahe's parts pronounces even the name Elahe with an American accent! I rather have narrators that read with a Persian accent but pronounce the Farsi words and phrases authentically than narrators that have crisp American accents. I now wish I had read the physical book rather than listened to it because it was so irksome to listen to these accents.

Wonderful story Awful Narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved reading about the History of Iran from female perspective. I didn’t think it was the most well written book, but it was a very good and honest story , with good presiónalos developments of the characters, and I do highly recommend it

History of Iran from female perspective

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a great book. It makes me so sad that people must live like this and that women are persecuted like they were and still are. It makes me so thankful that I was born and live in the US and have my freedoms! The author of this book was outstanding, and her writing teaches us so much about the customs and people of Tehran. Highly recommend.

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was an amazing read. Don’t hesitate. The story was easy to follow, had me on the edge of my chair wanting to know what happened next and also tugged at my heart. I will absolutely read another book by this author.

Amazing writing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The engaging narrators immerse you into Iran in the 1950s and what it was like to be a young woman full of hope that your country would recognize your rights and change for the better. I loved the seamless interchange between Farsi and English. The story particularly resonates with the heartbreaking parallels of how some of us feel in the US today.

Excellent narration of a beautiful story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews