jndutc 's review for:

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

DID NOT FINISH

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I returned this book to the library only a quarter finished. There was nothing wrong with the writing - it was very strong and lyrical, and I think I would have loved it on another topic - but the book and its subtle politics are so closely entwined with the books that the author and her students read during the course of events...if you haven't read all of THOSE books, it's easy to get lost in your reading of this book. Without any context for the symbolism and plots being discussed, my attention wandered, and I found the brief glimpses into that political culture to be too dry and out of touch. The writing also came across as very self-congratulatory at points, which was sad, because this was objectively a great thing the author had done, but her continually observations that it was great/heroic/etc started to feel like bragging. I may return to this at a later point in time, but for now, I've lost interest, which is unfortunate, because the premise is genius, and I'd love to hear these experiences from someone who lived them (as the author and her children did). Perhaps another time...