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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafizi is a reflection of sorts. She is writing about her time in Tehran as a professor of English literature as fundamentalist Islam rises in Iran. After leaving the university due to its oppressive policies, she gathers a handful of her female students and hosts a mini class in her living room. In this class, they discuss literature and how it relates to their own lives, but these discussions soon turn to discussions about their lives as women in the increasingly oppressive Iran.
Read more of my review at: https://theardentoptimist.wordpress.com/2017/09/08/reading-lolita-in-tehran/
Read more of my review at: https://theardentoptimist.wordpress.com/2017/09/08/reading-lolita-in-tehran/
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Me ha costado leerlo respecto al tiempo aunque finalmente he quedado enganchada a Nafisi y ya he buscado más libros para leer de ella. Creo que hay partes que son un poco complicadas porque hay como desfases temporales, no sabes si estas hacia adelante o hacia atrás en su línea de vida. No solo habla de libros, hay política, hay situaciones sociales...es un relato bastante completo, duro y esperanzador a la vez.
This book wasn't what I was expecting; I think I imagined a group of girls who were boldly defying Iranian authorities and reading censored books. This book wasn't quite that, although there *is* a book club that *does* have to meet in secret. An Iranian English literature professor demonstrates how themes from major authors (Vladimir Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James and Jane Austin) intertwined with themes in her life, as well as the lives of a few choice students. Some of this is done through her memories of classes at universities, but most of it involves a secret book club she holds in her house for a few select female students. I have to admit that I wasn't sold in the beginning, but as the book continued I found I couldn't put it down. Not only did the book provide an in depth look at life in a turbulent Iran, but it also made me look at works from my favorite authors in a completely different light. I would highly recommend it.
What I expected when I started this book: A different, non western view on one of the more or less most discussed and therefor controversial books of the last 100 years. A view based on an all female and private reading circle created by Azar Nafisi (a professor of literature from Teheran) and her ex-students.
What I got instead:
A view words on the book „Lolita“, but way less than I expected when I got myself this book. I thought it might give me another view on this novel to understand why so many people love it. Spoiler: It didn’t.
A lots of other Western classic were mentioned and discussed. Is it helpful to have read these before you read this book? I would say so. Because this way you understand then context more easily.
What else did I get? I remembered how incredible important reading and our own imagination is. That I’m privileged to live in a country where the only books which are banned these who include far right hate speech (as far as I’m aware). I realized that books have the magic power to travel without moving and how important this can be, if you’re bound to one place.
But I also got to know how much one person is able to interpret into a writing and how such person is able to see it as an attack of ones own lifestyle (referring to The Great Gatsby).
I got an insight of the Iranian life in the time of its revolution. How it changed the life of an academic who also happened to be female. How much it changed her students and their daily life. I don’t know why, but this has been my third book on life in Iran and somehow I’m fascinated with its history and the downfall of the country which came with the revolution.
I learned about a religion called „Baháʼí Faith“ - I had never heard about it before, but it was founded in the 19th century in Persia and has more than five millions adherents. Wikipedia tells me „The Baháʼí Faith stresses the unity of all people, explicitly rejecting racism and nationalism. At the heart of Baháʼí teachings is the goal of a unified world order that ensures the prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes“
What I didn’t like:
At the beginning you get introduced to a fair lot of Nafisi students, as the story goes ahead you won’t meet these students again for like half the book and then you meet them again. But at this point I almost forgot everything Nafisi explained about this people in the beginning. And I don’t think her long introduction at the start was necessary.
In hindsight I wish the book had more structure. How is it structured? Sometimes it feels chronological, then again it feels like it’s departed in the Western literature Nafisi is discussing - but not in her private class, but at her university class. It’s really confusing. Sometimes she’s in America, then again in Iran. I wish there had been more structure in her narrative.
I also didn’t enjoy that she referred to her friend as the „magician“ - why the big mystic around this person? Felt really unnecessary …
And last but not least, something that has been mentioned in other reviews as well: Nafisi changes a lot in her use of direct speech with quotation marks. Sometimes she uses them, sometimes not - I wish she would stick to one concept.
I was really torn what amount of stars I would give this book in my rating? Three or four? It’s interesting for sure, if you’re interested in Iran and the time of the revolution, this will give you a great insight. I just wish Nafisi put more structure into her writing. If so it would have been a straight 4 star book in my eyes, but as it happens, it just gets 3 stars from me.
What I got instead:
A view words on the book „Lolita“, but way less than I expected when I got myself this book. I thought it might give me another view on this novel to understand why so many people love it. Spoiler: It didn’t.
A lots of other Western classic were mentioned and discussed. Is it helpful to have read these before you read this book? I would say so. Because this way you understand then context more easily.
What else did I get? I remembered how incredible important reading and our own imagination is. That I’m privileged to live in a country where the only books which are banned these who include far right hate speech (as far as I’m aware). I realized that books have the magic power to travel without moving and how important this can be, if you’re bound to one place.
But I also got to know how much one person is able to interpret into a writing and how such person is able to see it as an attack of ones own lifestyle (referring to The Great Gatsby).
I got an insight of the Iranian life in the time of its revolution. How it changed the life of an academic who also happened to be female. How much it changed her students and their daily life. I don’t know why, but this has been my third book on life in Iran and somehow I’m fascinated with its history and the downfall of the country which came with the revolution.
I learned about a religion called „Baháʼí Faith“ - I had never heard about it before, but it was founded in the 19th century in Persia and has more than five millions adherents. Wikipedia tells me „The Baháʼí Faith stresses the unity of all people, explicitly rejecting racism and nationalism. At the heart of Baháʼí teachings is the goal of a unified world order that ensures the prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes“
What I didn’t like:
At the beginning you get introduced to a fair lot of Nafisi students, as the story goes ahead you won’t meet these students again for like half the book and then you meet them again. But at this point I almost forgot everything Nafisi explained about this people in the beginning. And I don’t think her long introduction at the start was necessary.
In hindsight I wish the book had more structure. How is it structured? Sometimes it feels chronological, then again it feels like it’s departed in the Western literature Nafisi is discussing - but not in her private class, but at her university class. It’s really confusing. Sometimes she’s in America, then again in Iran. I wish there had been more structure in her narrative.
I also didn’t enjoy that she referred to her friend as the „magician“ - why the big mystic around this person? Felt really unnecessary …
And last but not least, something that has been mentioned in other reviews as well: Nafisi changes a lot in her use of direct speech with quotation marks. Sometimes she uses them, sometimes not - I wish she would stick to one concept.
I was really torn what amount of stars I would give this book in my rating? Three or four? It’s interesting for sure, if you’re interested in Iran and the time of the revolution, this will give you a great insight. I just wish Nafisi put more structure into her writing. If so it would have been a straight 4 star book in my eyes, but as it happens, it just gets 3 stars from me.
I feel so mixed about this one. I've wanted to read this memoir for a few years since I heard of it, but I didn't begin reading it until it became one of the required texts in my class.
Most of all, I feel uncertain and maybe a little afraid to let Nafisi's experiences and thoughts influence my opinion about Iran and probably Islam in general - she seems to write this memoir for Westerners, especially educated Westerners, and therefore comes off as more than just a little defensive. Also her own Western background (having been raised and educated in the US) makes her quite one-sided, not really giving us the perspective of the ordinary Iranian or Islamic woman living in Iran... Maybe it's not fair to her that I was looking for that in her memoir, and I shouldn't judge it for the picture of Iran she creates. But I was also not very impressed with the way she weaves literature into her story. She sounds like she's actually teaching the novels to us readers, stating clearly and authoritatively just how she thinks we should read those books...
She writes beautifully, I won't deny that! But when I read reviews saying she sounds very self-important, I can see where they are coming from.
I have to do a presentation on this for class, and I'd like to mention some readers' reactions to this novel to go along with my topic. If anyone who reads this review and has read this novel, if you would be so kind, please leave comments about what you felt reading this, and your opinions about Nafisi's view and treatment of literature and the act of reading :)
Most of all, I feel uncertain and maybe a little afraid to let Nafisi's experiences and thoughts influence my opinion about Iran and probably Islam in general - she seems to write this memoir for Westerners, especially educated Westerners, and therefore comes off as more than just a little defensive. Also her own Western background (having been raised and educated in the US) makes her quite one-sided, not really giving us the perspective of the ordinary Iranian or Islamic woman living in Iran... Maybe it's not fair to her that I was looking for that in her memoir, and I shouldn't judge it for the picture of Iran she creates. But I was also not very impressed with the way she weaves literature into her story. She sounds like she's actually teaching the novels to us readers, stating clearly and authoritatively just how she thinks we should read those books...
She writes beautifully, I won't deny that! But when I read reviews saying she sounds very self-important, I can see where they are coming from.
I have to do a presentation on this for class, and I'd like to mention some readers' reactions to this novel to go along with my topic. If anyone who reads this review and has read this novel, if you would be so kind, please leave comments about what you felt reading this, and your opinions about Nafisi's view and treatment of literature and the act of reading :)
