Photo Credits: Gabriella Rodriguez ‘27
By Cat McKenna ’28
Staff Writer
In July 2024, author Marjan Kamali published her third novel, “The Lion Women of Tehran.” The Odyssey Bookshop welcomed Kamali on Wednesday, Oct. 30 to discuss her work with an eager crowd.
In addition to “The Lion Women of Tehran,” Kamali is also the author of “Together Tea” and “The Stationery Shop.” The three novels trace a connection between Iran and America, encompassing Kamali’s recollection of her childhood in Iran to her present in America.
Wednesday's event, which started at 7 p.m., began with a brief introduction and summary from the Odyssey’s Events Coordinator, Robin Glossner. The introduction was followed by a warm welcome to Kamali, who expressed excitement to be at the Odyssey for the second time in her writing career.
Kamali began the talk by discussing how she became a writer. She shared that during her childhood, she lived in five different countries, including Iran and America, which made it difficult to find a physical sense of home. That home was found in books.
She added that she did not pursue her dreams of becoming a writer instantly, primarily because she felt that she needed a “stable” career. However, during her time at Columbia Business School, she felt she was being led back to stories. This motivated her to seek out a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. Her first novel,“Together Tea,” was published in May of 2013.
“When you're working towards achieving your artistic dream, you also have to do other jobs, experience other professions in tandem, and that’s all okay,” Kamali said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News.
The next part of the talk centered around Kamali’s inspiration for “The Lion Women of Tehran.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, she found an old friend from Iran on social media and thought about how different their lives had become, with Kamali being an author in the U.S. and her friend working for a human rights organization in Iran.
This friendship from Kamali’s past is present in the story of Ellie and Homa, two young girls who grew up together in 1950s Tehran. The young women initially follow their own ambitions together, but as they grow older, political unrest in Iran unfolds. The story shows that betrayal has permanent consequences.
Kamali also discussed the ongoing conflict in Iran surrounding women’s rights, which served as inspiration for the novel. This influence can be seen through the character of Homa, who fights tirelessly for Iranian women to be free. Kamali moved the audience through her belief that adversity and conflict inspires change. “You can put out a fire, but the embers are still warm.” Kamali said.
Toward the end of the event, Kamali read a passage from the novel. The reading was followed by a question and answer discussion with the audience. Audience members resonated with the familiar themes of hope and strength, and the broken friendship during uncertain times, such as the bond between Homa and Ellie.
The event concluded with a book signing at the front of the store. In an interview with MHN during the signing, Kamali explained that the powerful symbol behind the title “Lion Women” comes from a direct translation of a Persian phrase.“It was so inspiring and empowering, especially growing up in a patriarchal culture, just to know that there is a phrase and a space for a lion woman was really inspiring.” Kamali said.