Reading Lolita in Tehran

I love the literary criticism and making it relevant, but I couldn't get my head around the unfamiliar names. Given that the story was a large group of women, I had a hard time following who was who because of the Iranian names, and also because of the constant shifts in time.

What a great book- it's about so many things- English sliterature, love of reading, Iran during the Revolution and after, women, friendships, etc. Some here have complained that she jumps around to much chronologically, but I didn't find thata problem- each of the four sections is about a different period of her life. Some complained that the people were difficult to keep trak of, and I will...more

What a great book- it's about so many things- English sliterature, love of reading, Iran during the Revolution and after, women, friendships, etc. Some here have complained that she jumps around to much chronologically, but I didn't find thata problem- each of the four sections is about a different period of her life. Some complained that the people were difficult to keep trak of, and I will say that I am not used to Iranian names, but I think that was the root of the problem, not her writing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading or who is interested in Iran.   hide

Interesting story but disjointed, characters introduced only to be left behind and picked up again several chapter later, chronologically a mess (it spans over 18 years and you jump back and forth). Could not really get attached to any of the students, they all blended until I could not tell them apart. I would have rather seen this turned into smaller essays. I would still recommend...more

Interesting story but disjointed, characters introduced only to be left behind and picked up again several chapter later, chronologically a mess (it spans over 18 years and you jump back and forth). Could not really get attached to any of the students, they all blended until I could not tell them apart. I would have rather seen this turned into smaller essays. I would still recommend reading this book since it does show a woman's perspective of the revolution and the power of literature.   hide

Fantastic book, although not a light, easy read and I'm typically a very fast reader. It's a true story of a female Iranian English literature professor, Azar Nafisi, and the way the political climate changed for women eventually forcing her to leave university teaching and begin a secret class for female students she handpicked. It is an extremely eye-opening picture of what has gone on...more

Fantastic book, although not a light, easy read and I'm typically a very fast reader. It's a true story of a female Iranian English literature professor, Azar Nafisi, and the way the political climate changed for women eventually forcing her to leave university teaching and begin a secret class for female students she handpicked. It is an extremely eye-opening picture of what has gone on in Iran. Shocking to me at times, particularly the things that are taught as truth about our country. It is a great, educating read, not only about Iran, but also about English literature. She actually inspired me to go back and pick up some classics that I hadn't previously read!   hide

I found her literary criticisms excellent, but her timing is off and she also seems disinterested in times, her world is being torn apart and she seems, well, bored. I am not sure if she is dissociating or just not wanting to give an opinion. Although it is a memoir. And she doesn't comment much on her surrondings, just literature, which is great but not exactly what a nonfiction book is...more

I found her literary criticisms excellent, but her timing is off and she also seems disinterested in times, her world is being torn apart and she seems, well, bored. I am not sure if she is dissociating or just not wanting to give an opinion. Although it is a memoir. And she doesn't comment much on her surrondings, just literature, which is great but not exactly what a nonfiction book is about. She has trouble deciding if she is writing a critical examination of books or her life. I believe that her references and critique of the literature in this book is inspiring but her memoir weaved in seems naive! How can such a smart, educated woman not realize until later what is going on around her? I really enjoyed her literary critiscims, but I found it hard to connect with her as a writer, in part because she didn't pick a stance of memoir vs. lecturing, and also because she seemed a bit too blasse about what was happening around her- whether she was dissociating or not scared...it became hard to tell. She speaks of bombs beind dropped all around her in a bored sort of way. That's confusing!   hide

Part lit-crit, part heartbreaking traumatic memorial. If you want to understand how war and brutal oppression affect the human emotions and psyche, read this book. Mrs. Nafisi processes her shell-shock in raw prose, and relates it to characters in the works of fiction she knows and loves.

an intriguing read. Women's right issue in the middle east (or many non-democratic countries for that matter) is a well recognized problem, but to read about it through someone's daily life and the specific occurence just left a much stronger impression. However, the author also spent alot of passages on literature reviews, which was unexpected when I picked up the book. As for the title 'reading...more

an intriguing read. Women's right issue in the middle east (or many non-democratic countries for that matter) is a well recognized problem, but to read about it through someone's daily life and the specific occurence just left a much stronger impression. However, the author also spent alot of passages on literature reviews, which was unexpected when I picked up the book. As for the title 'reading Lolita', how the author relate Nobokov's character to these women is not completely convincing... Interesting analysis on Jane Austen's fictions. only wished I had read Pride and Prejudice before this book. So, overall, there's half a book I really enjoyed and half that I find it hard to go through   hide

Nafisi writes about her time as a teacher in Tehran and how certain books can be related to the struggle within Iran. I don't mind the book. It's interesting, to a point. It's definitely NOT a page turner and it's easy to get lost in Nafisi's endless stream of characters and her leaps in time. My one big problem with this book is that I wanted Nafisi to have an opinion! I was interested...more

Nafisi writes about her time as a teacher in Tehran and how certain books can be related to the struggle within Iran. I don't mind the book. It's interesting, to a point. It's definitely NOT a page turner and it's easy to get lost in Nafisi's endless stream of characters and her leaps in time. My one big problem with this book is that I wanted Nafisi to have an opinion! I was interested in the issues facing women, couples, students, men, etc., in Iran, but instead of just relating the issues to reader, Nafisi could have provided at least some comment on them, some inkling of a opinion. Not bad, but certainly not great.   hide

This book is the best book I've read in a long time. And I've read many. If you ever want to pique women's interest in some great American authors of our time, get them to read this book. Of course, I always enjoy multiple viewpoints, so this book was a shoe-in for me from the get go. But I was really surprised how much I cared about these characters, and how skillful Azar was in shifting from...more

This book is the best book I've read in a long time. And I've read many. If you ever want to pique women's interest in some great American authors of our time, get them to read this book. Of course, I always enjoy multiple viewpoints, so this book was a shoe-in for me from the get go. But I was really surprised how much I cared about these characters, and how skillful Azar was in shifting from chapters on the Iran regime to her book club. This is a BOOK TO READ though. You idiots listening to it on tape are missing the entire point of reading. And please, Hollywood, do not turn this into a movie. I will be reading this again, as one read-through is not enough to fully appreciate the book.   hide