48 pages • 1-hour read
The Stationery Shop
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death, and mental illness.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “The Center: 2013”
Roya Archer visits the Duxton Senior Center with her husband, Walter Archer. Roya has lived in the US for more than 50 years and considers herself American. She had largely put her life in Iran behind her until last week, when she visited a local stationery shop and started remembering her life before the US. At the Center, she parts ways with Walter. While he has an appointment and gets lunch, Roya goes to visit Bahman Aslan, a patient at the Center and an old friend from Iran. When she sees him again, the love she felt for him when she was a teen immediately returns. Though now in his late seventies, Bahman seems the same.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “The Boy Who Would Change the World: 1953”
Seventeen-year-old Roya joins her parents, Maman and Baba, and her younger sister, Zari, for breakfast. While eating, Baba talks about Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. While the king, or Shah, has supported women’s rights, Mossadegh supporters fear that he’s in cahoots with Britain and the US. Roya can’t stand the political talk and turns her attention to the school day. However, while walking to school, she can’t help thinking about the political tensions heightening there; even her classmates have been distributing communist pamphlets at recess. Other girls have voiced support for the Shah. Roya just wants to stay out of it.
After school, Roya visits her “favorite place in all of Tehran” (17): the Stationery Shop. It’s owned by Ali Fakhri, who has a curated collection of stationery and books. Upon entering, Roya feels instantly calm. Today, she sees a curious-looking boy, who Mr. Fakhri tells her is Bahman Aslan, a youth who plans to change the world.
Over the following days, Roya can’t stop thinking about Bahman and seeking him out at the shop. One day, Mr. Fakhri warns her about Bahman. Nonetheless, she’s overwhelmed by emotion when Bahman engages her in a conversation about poetry.
“2013”
On the way home from the Center, Roya thinks about her past in Tehran. She bursts into tears when she recalls the day that she and Bahman were supposed to meet in Sepah Square when disaster ensued.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “Love: How It Tangles: 1953”
Throughout the winter, Roya and Bahman continue meeting each other at the Stationery Shop and eventually start spending time together. During their conversations, he tells her about his involvement with the Mossadegh revolutionaries. She discusses her love for science and literature. Roya remembers Mr. Fakhri’s warning but can’t ignore her feelings for Bahman.
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary: “Chained: 1953”
Roya and Bahman continue spending time together. She’s infatuated with Bahman despite his activist bent. She often “fear[s] for Bahman’s safety” (32) but can’t stay away from him. One day, Bahman takes her to a political demonstration. Amid the protest, a sword-wielding Shah supporter injures Bahman. His friend, Jahangir, helps get him care while Roya returns home.
Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary: “Café Ghanadi: 1953”
Two weeks after the Persian New Year, Roya visits the Stationery Shop. There, Bahman gives her a book for her to write her own poetry. Then, he takes her to Café Ghanadi. Impressed by the outing, Roya believes that she and Bahman are fated to be together. That night, however, Zari warns her about political types like Bahman.
Part 1, Chapter 6 Summary: “Bruised Sky: 1953”
Roya and Bahman go on another date, visiting the cinema and taking a walk. They discuss politics and film. Bahman proposes. Roya kisses him, accepting his offer, and they plan to tell their parents and marry by summer’s end.
Roya tells Zari the news first. Shortly thereafter, Bahman visits to ask Roya’s parents for her hand. They eagerly support the arrangement, as they both love Bahman. A few days later, the couple visits the café, where a young woman named Shahla stares at them from another table. Bahman admits that she’s the girl his mother, Badri Aslan, wants him to marry. Badri is upset about his engagement to Roya, but assures Roya not to worry, and Bahman’s kiss convinces her that everything will be fine.
Part 1, Chapter 7 Summary: “Mrs. Aslan: 1953”
Badri is furious when Bahman and Roya announce their engagement. Bahman is her only son, and she’s determined that he marry better; Shahla’s family is connected to the Shah. She storms out of the room, shocking Roya. Mr. Aslan is subdued, and he and Bahman quietly handle Badri’s outburst. Badri has had a mental illness for years, and Bahman and his father have done their best to mitigate her symptoms. While Bahman goes to soothe Badri, Roya tells herself that she’ll accept Badri to be with Bahman.
Part 1, Chapter 8 Summary: “Engagement Party: 1953”
After Roya and Bahman graduate from high school, their parents throw an engagement party. Maman is sad throughout the event, but Roya reassures her mother that she’ll continue to live nearby. She and Bahman have already planned to rent a few rooms in the area. Roya feels upset, though, because Badri is still unsupportive and makes a scene. She confronts Mr. Fakhri and berates him for matchmaking Bahman and Roya. Bahman tries to calm her down, but Zari is shocked that Roya tolerates Badri’s behavior.
Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary: “Tangled Tango Troubles: 1953”
After the engagement party, Roya and Bahman spend even more time together. They go out with Bahman’s friends, too. Roya gets to know his best friend, Jahangir, better. While out one night, Jahangir mentions Badri’s outburst at the engagement party and reassures Roya. Then, she and Bahman dance together, sharing an intimate conversation. Bahman admits that he’s worried about the plans to overthrow Mossadegh. Roya worries that he’ll be in danger. They promise each other that they’ll be safe and stay together forever.
Part 1, Chapter 10 Summary: “Letters in Books: 1953”
A week later, Roya can’t find Bahman. She hasn’t heard from him, and he isn’t at home or the Stationery Shop. Mr. Fakhri won’t give Roya any information but promises to pass notes between them. Whenever she visits the shop, Mr. Fakhri directs her to a new book wherein letters from Bahman are hidden. The love notes warm Roya’s heart and give her hope. Bahman assures her that he’s safe but must stay in hiding for a while; he also promises that they’ll reunite soon, as all he wants is to be with Roya.
Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary: “Sour Plums: 1953”
Roya and Zari stay up late talking one night. Zari criticizes Roya for poring over Bahman’s letters. Roya wonders if she could be in love, too. She has been writing back to Bahman to express her love. However, as the weeks pass, she starts to worry that Bahman will never return. Zari comforts her. One day, Mr. Fakhri gives her a letter from Bahman in which he announces that he’s coming out of hiding because he must see her. He plans to meet her at Sepah Square next Wednesday at noon; they can elope as soon as they reunite.
Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary: “Coup d’État: August 19, 1953”
On August 15, the Shah’s colonel, Nassiri, and his men try to attack Mossadegh at his home but fail. Roya and her family discuss the attack over breakfast, and she overhears similar conversations wherever she goes. She tries to dismiss the issue to focus on her excitement to see Bahman again.
On August 19, Roya excitedly prepares to go to the square. Zari doesn’t think their parents should let her go, given the political situation. Despite her sister’s warning, Roya races to Sepah Square, where Mossadegh protesters are gathered. Roya waits and waits, but Bahman doesn’t show up. Meanwhile, the crowd grows increasingly volatile. Amid the mayhem, Mr. Fakhri appears, insisting that he must tell Roya something. Roya tries to pull away from him, desperate to find Bahman. Suddenly, a shot is fired, hitting Mr. Fakhri. Roya screams for help, but it’s too late.
Roya flees the square and heads to the Stationery Shop. The store and the surrounding neighborhood are engulfed in flames. The coup to overthrow Mossadegh worked. Roya sneaks home and lies in bed, haunted by Mr. Fakhri’s death.
Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary: “Dream Destiny: 1953”
Over the following days, Zari stays by Roya’s side. She’s overcome by sorrow for all that has happened. She mourns Bahman, Mr. Fakhri, and his shop.
Part 1 Analysis
These opening chapters introduce the narrative stakes of The Stationery Shop and the relationship between the protagonist, Roya Archer, and Bahman Aslan. Their relationship establishes one of the novel’s main themes, The Challenges of Navigating Political Upheaval and Social Expectations. While the opening chapter is set in the narrative present, most of the section is set in 1953 Tehran, Iran (the era in which Roya and Bahman meet and fall in love). This is also the year of the Iranian coup d’état, in which Shah supporters (with backing from the US and the British) overthrow Prime Minister Mossadegh. This political conflict directly impacts Roya’s coming of age in Tehran and punctuates her relationship with Bahman. On the surface, their romance is innocent (defined by chaste meetings in the Stationery Shop, outings in the town, trips to the movie theater, walks in the city parks, and long conversations about poetry). Despite these idyllic aspects of their burgeoning, youthful relationship, Roya and Bahman’s future is never certain. His political activism particularly jeopardizes the young lovers’ future together. Roya’s friends and family consistently warn her about Bahman. Zari, for example, becomes Roya’s voice of reason as her affair with Bahman evolves, often issuing warnings like “You can’t pin your hopes on that boy,” “He just can’t be trusted,” and “Those political types are not what you think” (46). Roya loves and trusts Zari but disregards her concerns. She’s constantly exposed to the ongoing political turmoil in her city and country, but she wants to believe that her love with Bahman can overcome this ambient conflict. Roya also knows that her mother will “not like [Bahman’s] continued political activism” (53) as the conflict between Shah supporters and Mossadegh supporters intensifies, but “it was hard not to be besotted by Bahman’s charm” and his “good cheer and optimism” (53). Young and hopeful, Roya resolves to believe in the possibility of a future untouched by fear and guided instead by her heart’s desires.
Bahman’s family’s opposition to his and Roya’s relationship conveys the difficulties of combating social expectations. Since he was young, Bahman’s mother, Badri, has pushed him to marry Shahla, believing that she’s Bahman’s destiny. Bahman explains to Roya, “[M]y mother, like most mamans, has […] a girl in mind for me. She picked Shahla out a while ago” (55). Bahman is speaking to the tradition of arranged marriages. At this time in Iran’s history, marriage was particularly regarded as a contract between two families. Badri wants her son to marry Shahla because her family has elite connections that she hopes will elevate their own family’s position. She expects Bahman to acquiesce because he was raised in this tradition and is culturally expected to prioritize his family’s needs and desires over his own. In addition, Badri’s tenuous mental health jeopardizes the young lovers’ ability to follow their hearts and create a life together. As Bahman tells Roya, his “mother has some…issues. Sometimes she is not well. Emotionally. In her mind” (55). Badri’s instability creates an unstable home environment for Bahman, and he feels responsible for his mother’s well-being. The scenes in which Bahman and Roya announce their engagement and host their engagement party convey the intensity of Badri’s instability and her opposition to the engagement. She’s willing to stage public displays of upset (at the risk of her own reputation) to prevent her son and Roya from going through with the marriage.
Bahman’s political activism and social expectations challenge Roya personally, emotionally, and mentally. Because she always worries about Bahman, knows his mother thinks he could find a better match, and must withstand his family’s ridicule, she must ask herself if Bahman is worth these challenges. Almost every force is against Roya and Bahman being together. Their love is overarchingly impractical and illogical. She doesn’t have money. Bahman is engaged in an ongoing political conflict. His family doesn’t approve of her, and near the end of the section, she can’t even see Bahman in person. These circumstantial barriers to the characters’ love affair call into question the sustainability of young love. Through the characters’ narrative and historical circumstances, the novel explores the possibilities of love and how much tension, dissent, and hazard love can withstand. To 17-year-old Roya, her and Bahman’s connection feels vital. Even when Zari interrogates their relationship or when Badri openly ridicules Roya, she concludes that “[i]t would be worth it. […] For this boy, she would do anything” (63).
The protracted flashbacks to Roya and Bahman’s youthful relationship introduce another of the novel’s primary themes: The Persistent Power of Love. Roya never gives up on Bahman despite all the odds against them. She doesn’t allow politics, family, or money to separate them. Even when Bahman goes missing, and they must spend weeks apart, Roya doesn’t abandon hope of reuniting with and marrying her love. The love letters she and Bahman exchange throughout the latter chapters of the section symbolize love’s persistence. The letters help Roya to continue believing in Bahman: “Whether it was biology or foolishness or youth that was at the root of it, nothing could make this all-encompassing desire go away” (103). The letters reinforce this encompassing belief and maintain the lovers’ connection even when they can’t be together.
The scenes set in the narrative present (2013) further underscore the lasting nature of true love. Decades after Roya and Bahman fell in love, they reunite in the US and discover that their connection still exists. When Roya enters Bahman’s room at the Center, she wonders, “Was it possible to slip so easily back? His voice was the same. It was him, all of it, the eyes, the voice, her Bahman” (9). This scene formally instigates the temporal shift into the past in the next section. Roya and Bahman’s reunion reignites their old love and compels Roya back into the scenes, sounds, and sensations that defined her and Bahman’s youthful love affair. She can slip back into their romantic history so easily because her and Bahman’s love never faded.
Unlock all 48 pages of this Study Guide
Get in-depth, chapter-by-chapter summaries and analysis from our literary experts.
- Grasp challenging concepts with clear, comprehensive explanations
- Revisit key plot points and ideas without rereading the book
- Share impressive insights in classes and book clubs