Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books 
asked by geo on November 23, 2006 10:31 PM
An inspired blend of memoir and literary criticism, Reading Lolita in Tehran is a moving testament to the power of art and its ability to change and improve people's lives. In 1995, after resigning from her job as a professor at a university in Tehran due to repressive policies, Azar Nafisi invited seven of her best female students to attend a weekly study of great Western literature in her home. Since the books they read were officially banned by the government, the women were forced to meet in secret, often sharing photocopied pages of the illegal novels. For two years they met to talk, share, and "shed their mandatory veils and robes and burst into color." Though most of the women were shy and intimidated at first, they soon became emboldened by the forum and used the meetings as a springboard for debating the social, cultural, and political realities of living under strict Islamic rule. They discussed their harassment at the hands of "morality guards," the daily indignities of living under the Ayatollah Khomeini's regime, the effects of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, love, marriage, and life in general, giving readers a rare inside look at revolutionary Iran. The books were always the primary focus, however, and they became "essential to our lives: they were not a luxury but a necessity," she writes.
Threaded into the memoir are trenchant discussions of the work of Vladimir Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, and other authors who provided the women with examples of those who successfully asserted their autonomy despite great odds. The great works encouraged them to strike out against authoritarianism and repression in their own ways, both large and small: "There, in that living room, we rediscovered that we were also living, breathing human beings; and no matter how repressive the state became, no matter how intimidated and frightened we were, like Lolita we tried to escape and to create our own little pockets of freedom," she writes. In short, the art helped them to survive. --Shawn Carkonen
Reviews
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At first, I hesitated to read the book, thinking it might be too much about western literature (I am an engineer inclined to non-fiction) or too much about women-oriented topics that wouldn't connect. Neither concern was fulfilled.
I am not qualified to judge the assessments of the literature by the author or her students, and found those to be some of the least interesting sections of the book. The occasional link between the novels and how they related to the students, or how they contrasted with Islamic Iran, were far more engaging. A bit less pretentiousness by the author would have helped.
For a reader only mildly interested in the literature itself, the novels were a handy way to bring the characters together and provide a cover for discussion of the issues of the day, not just for the titular women but for other students. Without the novels, we might never had gotten to hear various men spouting the party line and reflecting the atmosphere for intellectuals. With some exceptions such as "the magician," men certainly come out on the short end.
The two best themes were the women students themselves and the recounting of the revolution and its impact on Iran. What could have been a generic "book group" had enough diversity in personality and reaction to the revolution to justify the story. However, the shifting in time and the blending of the characters indeed caused somewhat of a challenge in keeping the timeline straight and who's who.
Of course, as educated women and relatively young, they were not necessarily representative of the female population as a whole, and some of them, such as the author, certainly had privileged backgrounds and avoided the fate that awaited many others. More insight into the impact on regular citizens of the revolution and the war with Iraq would have been well received.
With these caveats, the author has done a service in documenting life in Iran as something other than a straight non-fiction history, which probably would find a small audience in America. By adding a substantial human interest component, with the result much like historical fiction, the story of these interesting women has found a much larger home.
3 stars overall, 4 stars for some sections and themes.
I am not qualified to judge the assessments of the literature by the author or her students, and found those to be some of the least interesting sections of the book. The occasional link between the novels and how they related to the students, or how they contrasted with Islamic Iran, were far more engaging. A bit less pretentiousness by the author would have helped.
For a reader only mildly interested in the literature itself, the novels were a handy way to bring the characters together and provide a cover for discussion of the issues of the day, not just for the titular women but for other students. Without the novels, we might never had gotten to hear various men spouting the party line and reflecting the atmosphere for intellectuals. With some exceptions such as "the magician," men certainly come out on the short end.
The two best themes were the women students themselves and the recounting of the revolution and its impact on Iran. What could have been a generic "book group" had enough diversity in personality and reaction to the revolution to justify the story. However, the shifting in time and the blending of the characters indeed caused somewhat of a challenge in keeping the timeline straight and who's who.
Of course, as educated women and relatively young, they were not necessarily representative of the female population as a whole, and some of them, such as the author, certainly had privileged backgrounds and avoided the fate that awaited many others. More insight into the impact on regular citizens of the revolution and the war with Iraq would have been well received.
With these caveats, the author has done a service in documenting life in Iran as something other than a straight non-fiction history, which probably would find a small audience in America. By adding a substantial human interest component, with the result much like historical fiction, the story of these interesting women has found a much larger home.
3 stars overall, 4 stars for some sections and themes.
reviewed by webster on November 24, 2006 1:01 PM
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Azar Nafisi's "Reading Lolita in Tehran" is a memoir about the impact of the Islamic revolution on the lives of educated women in Iran. Nafisi tells of the great hopes for reform in Iran after the fall of the Shah and the return of Ayatollah Khomeini, and how these hopes were dashed when the Islamic fundamentalists - by arrests, murders, and executions - forced women out of the 20th century back into its cruel medieval past.
After being forces to leave teaching in a renowned Iranian university, the author assembles a group of former female students, who secretly meet weekly in her home to discuss literature that was forbidden in the university. The heart of the story is the discussions among the students and the circumstance under which the classes were held.
As a reader of the book, I give it just 3 stars. However, I would recommend it to you as a 3.5-star book, if you are female; and I would recommend it to you as a 4-star book if you happen to be a female teacher of English literature.
After being forces to leave teaching in a renowned Iranian university, the author assembles a group of former female students, who secretly meet weekly in her home to discuss literature that was forbidden in the university. The heart of the story is the discussions among the students and the circumstance under which the classes were held.
As a reader of the book, I give it just 3 stars. However, I would recommend it to you as a 3.5-star book, if you are female; and I would recommend it to you as a 4-star book if you happen to be a female teacher of English literature.
reviewed by potato on November 29, 2006 1:33 AM
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What a wonderful idea for a book! I think of Iran after the revolution as being a difficult place to be a woman--they were marginalized, terrorized and oppressed. However, they were still human beings with hopes, dreams and intelligence. I'm certain many of them went out of their way and put themselves in potentially dangerous situations in order to nurture these hopes, dreams and intelligence. I liked the idea of having a glimpse into their lives as a group of these women discussed books that I, myself, have read and loved.
However, the book is a bit convoluted. The author explains right at the beginning that she has blended the characters, switched around their characteristics and fictionalized them a bit, "to protect individuals. . . from those who read such narratives to discover who's who and who did what to whom. . . " Perhaps this switching and blending is why I found it difficult to keep any of the characters straight in my mind. I never felt I had a clear picture of any of the women, and found it hard to focus on who had a daughter, who was engaged, who was religious, etc.
What I liked the most about this book was the insight into the lives of Iranian women living at this time. As an American citizen, I often take for granted the way I am able to live my life, and I appreciate a reality check every once in awhile. It was startling to read that some women have been forbidden to feel the wind on their skin, to wear nail polish or pink socks. The stories of the struggles of these women made me more grateful for my relative freedom; however, I'm not sure if it was worth wading through this book in order to gain this appreciation.
However, the book is a bit convoluted. The author explains right at the beginning that she has blended the characters, switched around their characteristics and fictionalized them a bit, "to protect individuals. . . from those who read such narratives to discover who's who and who did what to whom. . . " Perhaps this switching and blending is why I found it difficult to keep any of the characters straight in my mind. I never felt I had a clear picture of any of the women, and found it hard to focus on who had a daughter, who was engaged, who was religious, etc.
What I liked the most about this book was the insight into the lives of Iranian women living at this time. As an American citizen, I often take for granted the way I am able to live my life, and I appreciate a reality check every once in awhile. It was startling to read that some women have been forbidden to feel the wind on their skin, to wear nail polish or pink socks. The stories of the struggles of these women made me more grateful for my relative freedom; however, I'm not sure if it was worth wading through this book in order to gain this appreciation.
reviewed by titanium7 on November 29, 2006 2:11 AM