Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

I read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" when it first came out and have purchased many copies as gifts for my friends. Ms. Nafisi is an incredible story teller with intresting observations about personal qualities of the people she comes in contact with. She describes the events that have influenced her life with such honesty and clarity that it is hard to put the book down. I strongly recommend this book to everyone as a pleasant experience in discovering a new world observed through the author's perspective.

Beautifully written, stage setting very realistic. Reader can so easily integrate himself or herself into this group and ignore gender differences, political perspectives, societal challenges, limitations in freedom of speech.
Wonderful presentation of the political climate of the period, yet dominated by the strength and integrity of "the actors".

My interest was maintained throughout the book. It was a great learning experience for a male reader in getting to know the reaction of women suppressed by Iranian law. A minor objection would be that it was difficult to keep track of all the individuals mentioned in the book. Extremely educational as well!

Amazing book. Azar Nafisi is master to show you the realties mixed with fiction and then she reveals her evolving point of view in the her mixture. I truly enjoyed her book and gained so many aspects that was in the dark for me. She leads and take you to different places with grace. I recommend her book for every one.

A wonderful book, beautifully written, about a terrible time in history, especially for women. As a woman, I celebrate the freedom to read what I want and wear what I choose, and am more grateful because of this book.

Good , author gets involved with book reviews. Life is retelling Fitzgerald, Henry James etc.
I have new insight on the Iranians, following their revolution. As in totalitarian states, the
individual is suppressed in Iran. A must read for those who want to know what life in a Islamic
state is.

This is a fantastic book that will open your eyes and your hearts to a very different culture, in a very realistic and heartfelt way. You will learn details about the hopes and dreams of a generation of Iranians decades after the Islamic Revolution took over their lives. Through the account of these girls you will learn how similar we really are, and how our most basic needs and desires are one and the same.

I didn't expect a memoir which was composed mainly of the author's lecture notes about Nabokov, Fitzgerald, James ,etc. As an English major and career librarian, my life has been filled with literary criticism -- didn't expect more from an author who really can't write cohesively. These notes were scattered among comments and tales about faculty members, students. Midway through the section on Henry James I gave up! Not worth anymore of my time. Sorry!

This was a very sensitive and intelligent portrayal of life under a repressive regime and how the author struggled to express herself and teach others through her knowledge and interpretations of great literature.

This was a well written book and I particularly enjoyed the division into sections based on western writers and linking these sections to the characters and events in post revolutionary Iran. I wish there had been more character development, particularly of Bijan who seemed to be a disembodied ghost flitting around after the author. The treatment of women in Muslim cultures is appalling, especially since practitioners of that belief system believe a woman is worth only half a man. It's enough to make people long for the days of the shah.

If you are interested in literature analysis this is the right book to start with. It gives a some insight in the conditions at the universities in iran juring the islamic revolution and the years after, seen from a teachers wiew.

Reading Lolita in Tehran is one of the best memoirs I've read yet.

Nafisi is an excellent writer; I'm glad I picked up her book in 2014, ready to appreciate its intricacies, allusions, structure, style, as well as the intense stories of life in Iran that Nafisi and her students, friends, family, relations, and fellow Iranians had to (and still have to) put up with. Now I want to read some of the English literature she's woven into its fabric, and then re-read it again.

I would recommend this book to everyone. Specifically, I'd recommend it to students of English literature. If you're a fan of Austen, Fitzgerald, Henry James, or Nabokov, then this is a great read just for Nafisi's thoughts and how she interleaves the thoughts of each author's stories into her life. There's a section at the end that gives book recommendations in much more detail (Flaubert, Kafka, you name it). Additionally, I'd recommend it to all feminists. It's a great work accounting for the struggles of being a woman in Iran in the 1980's and 1990's.

My all-time favorite book. It helps to have read those novels discussed. An amazing teacher, author's lectures and trials with girls as well as her creativity is detailed, global and valuable. Would love to have her in class...she now teaches at Johns Hopkins.

An outstanding true tale of life for women in Iran from the 1980's through early 90's. As womens rights were being stripped piece by piece Dr.Nafisi strove to teach English Literature to young women at universities and then in private sessions at her home. As they fought the veil and harsh doctrines many were jailed but returned to her classes with new strength. Throughout the war their courage and determination persevered. Their stories mixed with their zeal for learning are truly inspiring.

I was extremely disappointed. I expected to read about the lives of the women who were in the "hand-picked" bookclub in Iran, and how they may have used literature to overcame the struggles faced by women in the middle-east.

Instead, the book is more a memoir of the author's life. The many friends, co-wokers, family and women she writes about remind me of someone discussing their trophies. She proves over and over again that her NEED to teach is more to force her own narcassic viewpoints rather than encouraging students to draw their own conclusions. How sad for those studying under her.

Although the book touches on the lives of the members of the group, the author spends much of her time sharing personal stories of what it was like for her during her years as a rebellious, demonstrating young college woman NOT IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT IN THE UNITED STATES while attending college. Instead of blending the use of various great literature pieces into the story to show how the women used such works as "Lolita" to help them cope with their lives, she ran on and on and on with excerpts from various works, and did not relate them to current problems in the Middle East.

I felt at times the author was using this book as a means for her to come to terms with herself and how her own life had changed rather than enlighten the public of the struggles in the Middle East.

If someone has little knowledge of the struggles of women who are opressed in the Middle East,then you may enjoy this book. If you, however have a general knowledge from other books, then I am almost certain you will find this book long, drawn out and boring.

A fine book about the power of imagination to mitigate the oppression of life in a theocratic society. Also thoughtful insights into the interpretation of Gatsby, Lolita, Huckleberry Finn, and other classic literary works. It would have been wonderful to have had Dr. Nafisi as a professor during my days as an English major.

Having read years ago with horrified fascination Brave New World and 1984, I was not surprised to find eerie resonances in this masterful real life account of women trying to survive in the post Shah era in Iran.

The author's bravery in trying to teach human values and ethics in such a hostile environment was augmented by her further audacity in gathering selected students from her university for potentially life threatening private seminars in her home in Tehran, where they discuss classic literature including Lolita and many other works such as The Great Gatsby as these works might relate to the authoritarian taboos imposed by the thought police who act on the orders of Ayatola Khomeni. One can hardly wait for the next page to disclose what happens and readers will be rewarded with poignant accounts of these diverse lives under shattering oppression.

Having read years ago with horrified fascination Brave New World and 1984, I was not surprised to find eerie resonances in this masterful real life account of women trying to survive in the post Shah era in Iran.

The author's bravery in trying to teach human values and ethics in such a hostile environment was augmented by her further audacity in gathering selected students from her university for potentially life threatening private seminars in her home in Tehran, where they discuss classic literature including Lolita and many other works such as The Great Gatsby as these works might relate to the authoritarian taboos imposed by the thought police who act on the orders of Ayatola Khomeni. One can hardly wait for the next page to disclose what happens and readers will be rewarded with poignant accounts of these diverse lives under shattering oppression.

Yes, Nafisi is bright. Her memoir has a few passages that offer insight into the lives of Iranians during a time of oppression and her discussion of literary works of Nabokov, Fitzgerald, and Austen are interesting. Unfortunately, she is also arrogant and humorless. Her book, for the most part, is a disjointed memoir filled with smug self-congratulations.

Finding one's identity by juxtaposing life in a surreal world with those that exist in fictional ones. That is how Ms. Nafisi kept her sanity during and after the unheaval of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Describing the courageous manner which she and her students lived everyday -- with a focus on learning from the characters painted by masters of Western literature -- is both inspiring and humbing. This is a book that artfully demonstrates the importance of philosophy and art in assisting us in maintaining our individuality, especially is totalitarian societies that reject the individual for the benefit of their dogma.

Beautifully written, thought-provoking, and very informative, offering the reader a close and personal perspective of that tumultuous decade in Iran that would ordinarily not be possible. The comparisons and detailed analysis of the books, i.e., Lolita, The Great Gatsby, Jane Austin novels, etc. that were discussed within the group relative to their individual lives also offered an illuminating insight into these great tombs of literature.

The background story about the girls' lives was very interesting, but I have two problems with this book. There were so many characters that it was hard to keep track of who was who. Also, if you haven't read the books that they were talking about, you miss a lot of the story.

2nd reading, many years apart. Enjoyed it more this time because of an increased interest and awareness of all things Iranian. One needs a rather substantial background in English literature to grasp all the references Nafisi makes to books she is introducing to her students. Her relative calmness throughout her time in Tehran before leaving permanently for the US, especially when the Ayatola Kohlmeni was in power, is breathtaking. Nafisi is one tough cookie!

Amazing book! Read this in my literature class and it was such an amazing and insightful read. Nafisi is such a talented writer, there were time's when I just couldn't put the book down. I highly suggest this to anyone who's looking for an insightful and good read

Was very interested in the plight of women in Iran. The book helped me understand somewhat the confusing politics of Iran during this time and probably into present day. Although I enjoy reading very much, lost interest with literary partof it. Understand she was attempting to compare the dilemmas of the characters in the books with problems her pupils faced and to stimulate thinking.

I loved this book! Finally a woman brave enough to stand up for women's rights and freedoms in Iran. Too bad she couldn't bring her female students with her to America to enjoy the many gifts their teacher gave them through literature. As a American Muslim

woman in America I can feel their suffering--my husband is very religious and many of my freedoms disappeared when I converted to Islam. Every woman should give this book a chance. It is a great read!!!