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Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
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Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 820.9
EAN: 9780812979305
ISBN: 0812979303
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2008-11-04
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: 2008-11-04
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Editorial Reviews:
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Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Azar Nafisi, a bold and inspired teacher, secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. Some came from conservative and religious families, others were progressive and secular; some had spent time in jail. They were shy and uncomfortable at first, unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, but soon they removed their veils and began to speak more freely–their stories intertwining with the novels they were reading by Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, as fundamentalists seized hold of the universities and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the women in Nafisi’s living room spoke not only of the books they were reading but also about themselves, their dreams and disappointments.
Azar Nafisi’s luminous masterwork gives us a rare glimpse, from the inside, of women’s lives in revolutionary Iran. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a work of great passion and poetic beauty, a remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny, and a celebration of the liberating power of literature.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Moving, haunting, disturbing, and extremely well written
Comment: I finally had the courage to pick this book up. I was sure that 22 years after leaving Iran, I would have the brave soul to keep my distance and not get overly emotional reading what has become nearly a classic. At first, I was not at all impressed or drawn to the book. Slowly, it started to seep into me and before I knew it, I was back in Iran, living those horrific days along with Nafisi and all the other characters, and dreading the atrocity, the day to day terror, the terrifying unknown (what else will they do? what else will they take away from us? how else will they humiliate and hurt us? what on earth is left to be taken away?). The Islamic Republic of Iran is run by mad uncivilized disease-ridden animals and it is terrifying to read the true stories in this book, and worse yet to relive memories you vow to forget but know that you never will.
I applaud Nafisi for not just writing such a remarkable book but for her bravery, on the verge of insanity, for staying in Iran through it all. I am very happy to have read this book as it will stay with me forever.
Yes I do recommend it for everyone, American, Iranian, or any other nationality. Read this so you know to appreciate and love and defend the freedom you may be taking for granted.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Insight and frustration
Comment: Nafisi's memoir is a mixed bag. Her device--using the great novels she has studied and taught throughout her career as pegs for a memoir about modern Iran--is effective, but her professorship constantly gets in the way. She is bent on forcing her students and readers to see novels her way and to see her world through her lens. That said, she also offers a great deal of insight on what it means to live under the Islamic dictatorship that is post-revolutionary Iran, and many of her quotes from literature are telling and profound.
Because of her privileged position and above-the-fray stance, she never experienced the worst of the repression, though she clearly suffered from the constant control imposed most cruelly on women. Still, while wearing a veil, not exposing hair, not wearing make-up, not consorting with non-relative men ... is harsh, neither is it torture. Those tortured and murdered and threatened with both are people she knows as students and intellectuals who took many more chances than the author. They were the ones who stood up more forcefully to the regime. That makes this more an in depth news summary than a personal tragedy.
As for her expressed literary tastes, they are fine and important enough within the context of her university life, but ultimately pretty predictable and dull. I was much more excited about this book half way through than when I finally slogged through to the end, having invested too much time to lay it aside in favor of other worthies in the stack beside the bed.
If you share the author's love of James, Nabokov, Austen, et. al., you will doubtless find this far more worthwhile than did this reviewer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A tribute to the human spirit
Comment: This memoir is a marvelous piece of writing. Azar Nafisi's recollections of the early days of the Islamic Revolution are absolutely compelling but, when she adds the thoughts provoked by various great novels and the interplay between her "girls", one is left spellbound. I was won over by the very first page and I soon found myself highlighting the author's wonderful use of the English language (so that many pages are almost all bright yellow now). The "girls" reminded me so much of the young women with whom I worked in Tehran many years ago. Their tenacity and humor in the face of unbelievable pressures never ceases to surprise and their fearless femininity leaves any man reading this book in a state of sheer admiration. The description of Sanaz's dance awoke so many priceless memories that it brought tears to my eyes - but then so did a lot of other episodes in the book. Perhaps because there is so much sadness implicit in much of its subject matter, this book is an extraordinary tribute to the human spirit and, most particularly, the incomparable qualities of Iran's women.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Memorable
Comment: Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
The title of this memoir/literary criticism hybrid delivers exactly what it promises. A teacher dares to challenge an unimaginably oppressive Muslin regime, by reading "Western" classical fiction at a time when all thing "Western" was either illegal or openly despised. As Azar Nafisi strives to educate her students, we get a unique perspective on some of our beloved novels. How do you teach Lolita about the disturbing rape and forced captivity of a 12 year old, when the legal age for marriage in Iran is nine? How do you approach Gatsby when adultery is a crime, western excess is shunned and of all things you have to be worried about your veil slipping off when your gestures become too animated?
Nafisi handles all this in stride. Finding courage in her favorite heroines, and instilling passion in her students as all great teachers become accustomed.
The literary criticism, moments and theories alone are enough to make the book a worthwhile read for fellow lit junkies. The book is full of relatable moments as the students grapple with the literature and characters. A standout scene involves a stringent Islamic Revolutionary using an EE Cummings poem to woo his unrequited lady love. This setting is Tehran however so not all scenes are so light, there are doses of executions, rape, and shameless brutality, but Nafisi masterfully balances the tone; keeping the reader enthralled through several genres of storytelling.
You'll want to read this one as your favorite authors and novels inspire so many different women to pursue their own dreams even if at tremendous costs. In a word memorable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: cinsandiego
Comment: I loved this book, although I started it three times (over a period of two years) before becoming thoroughly engaged. After that, I looked forward to getting back to it every day and made sure to set aside a time and place to enjoy it, without interruption, as it took my full focus. I read the book first, then listened to it on cd's (narrated beautifully by Lisette Lecat). After sixty years of loving books, this one ranks among my favorites and I will enjoy rereading it many times.
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