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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This book provides interesting insight from the female perspective about the Iranian Revolution, but that is about the main aspect it brings. As a teacher I was looking for a bit more depth into the student-teacher relationship, and the book just seemed to end. I was also expecting to feel a lot more emotions about such a trying time, but I didn't. Perhaps I missed something, someone else give it a go and let me know.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Liked: learning about the Islamic Revolution, stuff about the women in the book group.
Didn't like: "my magician," the author's description of her own feelings about Iran.
I know the subtitle of this book is "A Memoir in Books," but I kept wanting it to be less about Nafisi's own experience and more about the lives of her students. I can't blame her for this, but ultimately my enthusiasm for the book fizzled out during the last 1/3.
Didn't like: "my magician," the author's description of her own feelings about Iran.
I know the subtitle of this book is "A Memoir in Books," but I kept wanting it to be less about Nafisi's own experience and more about the lives of her students. I can't blame her for this, but ultimately my enthusiasm for the book fizzled out during the last 1/3.
A LOT of this book went right over my head, but I enjoyed what I understood.
emotional
informative
medium-paced
I have tried for so long to like it, but it is so boring. She feels like the war is a nuisance and almost is justifying US involvement in Iran. I wanted to like it, but it is not at all for me.
The vivid descriptions of daily life in Iran under strict Islamic rule helped me to learn more about the struggle, both for men but especially women, for freedom and independence. I admit to not knowing much about this period in the not so distant past, and the stories told through the lens of the author’s class brought life to this dark time.
However, I found it incredibly difficult to make it through this novel due to the author’s flowery and dense prose. Her intellectual musings were too much for me and I would have preferred less discussion on what was taught in the classes, and more focus on her students and happenings as it was a memoir. There were many interesting parts of the book, but overall the writing style made it unenjoyable.
However, I found it incredibly difficult to make it through this novel due to the author’s flowery and dense prose. Her intellectual musings were too much for me and I would have preferred less discussion on what was taught in the classes, and more focus on her students and happenings as it was a memoir. There were many interesting parts of the book, but overall the writing style made it unenjoyable.
3.5 stars. An eye-opening read on the experiences of Iranian women and how they live, or are forced to live under near totalitarian rule, and literature's role as a means of escape/affirmation of life.