The Stationery Shop

Compose an essay that either supports or refutes the following claim: Roya loses herself when she immigrates to the US. What does she change about herself? What does she hold onto from her past?

Explore the Stationery Shop as a metaphor for Roya’s interiority. How does the shop relate to how Roya sees herself, past and present? Which aspects of the physical shop and its contents resemble Roya’s moods, feelings, opinions, or desires?

Explore the relevance of Ali Fakhri and Badri Aslan’s romance to Roya and Bahman’s romance. What role does their romance serve in the broader scheme of the novel? How might the novel’s themes resonate differently without Ali and Badri’s sections?

Analyze the role of the 1953 and 2013 Iranian political conflicts in the context of the larger narrative. How do references to the conflict impact the narrative mood or the characters’ relationships? How does the author use these political allusions to real events to develop the characters’ lives?

Compare and contrast Roya and Zari’s characters. How might the sisters’ differences and similarities offer insight into women’s struggles in Iran? Would the novel function thematically and narratively without Zari? Why or why not?

Choose three symbols not mentioned in the guide and analyze their relationship to one of the novel’s themes. For example, how do the notebook, the café, and the Duxton Senior Center thematically explore The Persistent Power of Love?

Compose an essay that explores the intersection of the past and the present throughout the novel. How do the characters regard their political and personal histories? How do these histories inform the events in the narrative present? Consider the novel’s structure and its relation to how Roya regards her memories and former life.

Compare and contrast Roya’s and Badri’s characters and storylines. How do their common experiences create possible connections between them? How might their similarities explore womanhood on a more universal level?