This is the story of Azar Nafisi's dream and of the nightmare that made it come true. For two years before she left Iran in 1997, Nafisi gathered seven young women at her house every Thursday morning to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. They were all former students whom she had taught at university. They were unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, but soon they began to open up and to speak more freely, not only about the novels they were reading but also about themselves, their dreams and ...
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This is the story of Azar Nafisi's dream and of the nightmare that made it come true. For two years before she left Iran in 1997, Nafisi gathered seven young women at her house every Thursday morning to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. They were all former students whom she had taught at university. They were unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, but soon they began to open up and to speak more freely, not only about the novels they were reading but also about themselves, their dreams and disappointments. Nafisi's account flashes back to the early days of the revolution, when she first started teaching at the University of Tehran amid the swirl or protests and demonstrations. Azar Nafisi's tale offers a fascinating portrait of the Iran-Iraq war viewed from Tehran and gives us a rare glimpse, from the inside, of women's lives in revolutionary Iran.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. NOTE: Missing artwork. Discs (4) and case in excellent condition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. Orders received before 3PM PT typically ship same day. All profits support the non-profit community.
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Good. 16 AUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library collection. Some library marking, sticker and stamp. We will polish the CDs for a worthwhile listening experience. Enjoy this reliable performance on AUDIO CDs.
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Very Good Minus. Book 16 unabridged CD's in original cardboard case. Case & packaging have moderate wear. From From Publishers Weekly: "This book transcends categorization as memoir, literary criticism or social history, though it is superb as all three. Literature professor Nafisi returned to her native Iran after a long education abroad, remained there for some 18 years, and left in 1997 for the United States, where she now teaches at Johns Hopkins. Woven through her story are the books she has taught along the way, among them works by Nabokov, Fitzgerald, James and Austen. She casts each author in a new light, showing, for instance, how to interpret The Great Gatsby against the turbulence of the Iranian revolution and how her students see Daisy Miller as Iraqi bombs fall on Tehran Daisy is evil and deserves to die, one student blurts out. Lolita becomes a brilliant metaphor for life in the Islamic republic. The desperate truth of Lolita's story is...the confiscation of one individual's life by another, Nafisi writes. The parallel to women's lives is clear: we had become the figment of someone else's dreams. A stern ayatollah, a self-proclaimed philosopher-king, had come to rule our land....And he now wanted to re-create us. Nafisi's Iran, with its omnipresent slogans, morality squads and one central character struggling to stay sane, recalls literary totalitarian worlds from George Orwell's 1984 to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Nafisi has produced an original work on the relationship between life and literature."
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a must read to have an inkling of middle-east mentality and its suppression of women
dmcf
Apr 1, 2010
Eye opening
Reading Lolita In Tehran is a true story about freedom and captivity, gentleness and brutality, love and war. The reader is horrified at the indignities heaped upon women and at the same time touched by the small victories that keep them struggling on through the harshness of daily life. Great writing and a riveting story.
reneek
Jul 9, 2009
great writer
Nafisi is a brilliant writer and teacher, and this comes through in her novel. Anyone who wants to glimpse inside the culture of Iran, or those teach (like myself) will find this book both enlightening and useful.
helper
Mar 28, 2009
Iran under Islam
In her book, Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi remembered that in the 1960s,
'It was not the fashion to think that our culture was not compatible with modern democracy. "We all wanted opportunities and freedom. That is why we supported revolutionary change, we were demanding more rights, not fewer. '
Even with the few rights she had, she later went on to become a professor of Persian studies at local universities. She brought a love of literature into many lives that may have been overcome by having to follow the religious beliefs of those in power during their generation.
Although Nafisi fought to remain unveiled, adamant that the symbol of the veil should not be used as a political sign , she allowed some of the students in her classes to influence the curriculum. In those days a teacher could be fired based on a student's report of her. And Nafisi was 'anxious' that she be well received by her students , even going so far as to hold a mock trial during the study of The Great Gatsby.
Many institutions used Iran for their own selfish ends, from the Regime itself to foreign powers and political parties. These forces and the roles they played in individual lives frustrated the people. Many people felt powerless or disillusioned, many even resented the interference. Yet, the small country grew into a major political power now recognized globally and respected in their own right.
LadyLourdes
Feb 12, 2009
The Book Group from Heaven in a Living Hell
I loved this book. It gave me an inside view of life in Tehran, the lives of women and girls in changing and difficult times. This book demonstrated how books can be universal in illuminating women's experiences. I loved the idea of bringing food and drink to the book group. My group share cake, wine, fruit and chocolate too, much to the disdain of partners and a rival reading group.. This is where I was introduced to this book. Thank you book group.
