THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN

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. The novel captures the history of Iran from the 1950s through the 1970s. It indicts the Savak (secret police under the Shah) but skewers the religious zealots who replaced the Shah and pushed women's rights back centuries. The action, while predominantly in Iran, moves to New York City. The epilogue leaves the impression that those who ended up in the U.S. thrived. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2024]