Search - Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

It took me a few chapters to get into "Reading Lolita". I thought it was going to be a strict memoir, and when she digressed into these elaborate dissertations on (especially Lolita), I found myself getting bored. Now, I'm not one to ever eschew an intellectual conversation or debate on anything, but I really wanted to hear about the girls and their lives and Azar Nafisi's life in this horrible theocratic regime. I also wanted to know how they managed to get away with reading such blasphemous stuff. When Azar Nafisi talked of these things, I couldn't put the book down, but when she started on her diatribes and nuanced descriptions of "Lolita", Nabokov, Fitzgerald and Austen, I found my mind wandering. I suppose if I had picked up a book entitled, "The In-Depth Analysis of Vladimir Nabokov and Lolita", I wouldn't have felt that way, but as you know, this isn't that book. As the book progressed, I really did have affection for some of the characters, and I truly felt scared for them and hoped that this book didn't have a horrible ending like all the women getting executed. Luckily, we didn't have to deal with that, but I wish Azar Nafisi would write a book just talking about the lives and feelings and situations of young women in Iran, so that people in the United States can really figure out what's going on over there. Unfortunately, I believe that would be hard for Nafisi to do. She is definitely an intellectual, and I think her interest lies in absolutely dissecting fiction in a way that no one else is really interested in.

Finally, I do believe this book is worth reading. I learned some things about what was going on when the Ayatollah was in power, things I didn't realize and I did find myself sort of missing "the girls" after reading the last page and closing the book.

This is not a badly written book. I kept losing interest in it - Anyone over the age of 30 is aware of the oppression that women in Iran suffered upon the Revolution. The problem I had with it is that in order to fully comprehend this story, the literature discussed in this memoir should be fresh in the reader's head. Unfortunately, I haven't read stories such as The Great Gatsby or Lolita in years, and didn't want to reread these stories solely for the sake of Nafisi's book.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but when I started I found it somewhat boring. I have never read Lolita, so I guess this started me off on the wrong foot. I wanted to read more about the women and their lives in Iran than the discussions in their bookclub. I am posting this book but will try to finish before it goes.

I tried very hard to read this book. I usually read a minimum of 50 pages before deciding I don't like a book. I gave this book about 100 pages and still couldn't find it worth my time. It was a big disappointment to me as I was anxious to learn more about the women and the challenges they faced. Instead, for my tastes, too much of the book was being devoted to a critique of the books the women in the group read. I wanted to read more about the women and less about the books.

Very interesting if you are into literature. Not quite as good sociologically.

Scary picture of what it could be like living in a country under the rule of religious zealots. This book is about a group of young women and a professor (Nafisi) that gather to study some of the forbidden literature of the decandent West. What is revealed is the effect of the current ruling regime on these young women as they search for their own uniqueness in a society that seeks to cloth them in sameness.

I left this book with a renewed sense of strength and an amplified connection to the collective of women on our planet. How these goddesses of Iran deal with such oppression is something every woman and man should appreciate. Though it may not be fraught with "action" as some may want, I found this book to be an impossible to put down read...stick with it if you are having trouble beeing pulled in. The empathy will pour out of you as you read, especially for those with open hearts & minds.

i didn't finish the entire book.... though there were many things i learned from it, especially about iranian way of life, i just couldn't keep focused.

This was informative and had been on my TBR list for awhile. There were few surprises in the book. It's just good to be reminded about how lucky we are to be living in this time and in the U.S.

Even though the book bogs down at different times I felt compelled to finish it. I needed to know more about current struggles for intellectual freedom.

An interesting, inside look to Iran through the eyes of 1 teacher and her female students. It is helpful to know something about the books mentioned, but not required. A lover of literature and of good writing will find this book a worthwhile read.

I loved this book. I really really loved it.
It was empowering, it was uplifting and saddening at the same time. It gave me humility and hope.

very good

My book group loved this book!

What a fantastic book. With all that's going on in the world there this was fasinating.

I found the book very insightful.

Very timely about a teacher in Tehren, fired from the University, who taught young women in her home. A glimse of how intellectual women in Tehren must live.

This was a great look inside Iran, and the oppression that exists there toward women and intellectuals. It was also a really cool "lecture" on several literary classics; she is truly a gifted teacher of literature.

Nafisi gives us a look at the Iranian female's experience during the last twenty years. A professor of British and American literature, she takes you into her classes and lectures during prohibitive and turbulent times. Her writing is eloquent and poignant. A must read for all Americans.

I really liked this book. It gave me a good perspective on another country. It was definitely not hard to follow.