Rating: 
Summary: Good Subject, Poor Writing
Review: I made it 3/4 of the way through this book because the subject is so interesting. But I finally had to put it down. Too much literary analysis, too many characters to keep track of, too many timeline changes, and too much of the same stuff over and over. Ok, enough of the bombing, and your girls, and the Muslim extremists. A lot of this could have / should have been boiled down to make it a readable story. I can see that book clubs with time on their hands could use the classic references to dive into discussions about these books and their relationship to current times, but I just wanted a readable story about that time in Iran and how the circle of friends coped. A few literary analysis would have been ok, but it got to seem like she was showing off a bit and diverging from the story at hand...
Rating:
Summary: Reading Lolita in Confusion
Review: I have to admit that I was greatly disappointed by "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nefisi. While the book had its interesting aspects (like her perceptions of life during a war in Iran after she lived abroad), it was often hard for me to stay interested in it. At first it was interesting to read about her class' take on the Western novels, but that got old half way into the first book. I wanted her to go deeper into what happened to those around her, and less into the meanings of the books they were reading. It often felt like I was reading an English lecture instead of a memoir. Although I thoroughly enjoy English discussions, I would rather participate in one than read an entire book about one. As for the plot, it was lost amongst the interpretation of her books so much that I often forgot what she was even talking about in the first place. Because she spent so much time on characters like Jay Gatsby, that I felt by the end of the novel I knew him better than I knew any of the other people in the book. She never went deep enough into the lives of her students or the magician for me to understand what they were going through as well. I got tired of reading about her interpretations the novels when all I really wanted what was happening to other people besides her. I felt that she focused so much on herself and her obsession with fiction that the other aspects of the book were lost on me. Another distracting aspect was that I was often confused because the war she writes about took place when I was under the age of five, and my education thus far has opted out of bring up wars in the Middle East. While this is more my fault than her own, her explanations behind the reasons for the war were vague, and I rarely knew what side people were one, which made the book less enjoyable to read. While I did learn about a different culture and a different life when I read this book, it did not hold my attention for very long. With so much emphasis on the meaning of her literature and not enough in the lives of the people around her, I felt as though I were sitting in a lecture, not reading a memoir. After awhile, it became more of a chore to read it than a pleasure. Hence, it was not my cup of tea, but quite possibly, it could be yours.
Rating: 
Summary: Themes of Dreams in "Reading Lolita in Tehran"
Review: Reading Lolita in Tehran is a book that tackles the idea of dreams. Azar Nafisi explores this topic directly and indirectly in her personal memoirs of Tehran, Iran. The book is a memoir of her experiences in Iran. In 1995, Nafisi, a former professor, gathered seven of her students on Thursdays to discuss literature that was considered very controversial in Tehran. The book gives you glimpses of life in Tehran for women, and all humankind in general. The novel develops a theme through the correlation of literary conflicts in the groups' chosen readings and worldly conflicts of the time. Along with the contextual comparisons drawn from the two worlds of literature and life, there also lies an overwhelming sense of universiality that portrays the humanity of Americans and Iranians. The theme of dreams is prevalent throughout the novel. Nafisi opens the book by declaring that she "decided to indulge [myself] and fulfill a dream.". Through their reading of novels by American authors, such as Jane Austen and Scott Fitzgerald, Nafisi is able to portray the responses and dilemmas within the responses to the fiction. Throughout the four works discussed in the group, Nafisi plays on many relations; the relationship between men and women in Tehran, as opposed to that of men and women in America, relationship between the Americans and the Iranians and their opinions of the other, and the relationship fiction has with its readers. Thematically, all of these elements corroborate to pose the issue of dreams.
When does dream become reality for the women of Tehran? Is it necessary for them to create a "parallel fantasy" in which they can hope to live, but in which they know they can not live? Is this dream of something better an inherent dream in all of humankind? Is that dream of idealism what drives the governments of both the United States and the Middle East? Are dreams what keep us apart or what connect us as humans? Nafisi approaches these issues through textual examples. Through her relations with certain students she is able to express the deep divisions that have occurred between men and women, Iranians and Americans, literature lovers and loathers. Yet at the same time, there are hints of connection that occur in their discussions that lead her to believe that a similar thread can link them together.
This link appears to be literature and, beyond that, the essence it embodies. "A novel is... the sensual experience of another world.", according to Nafisi. She goes on to say that "empathy is at the heart of the novel.". She goes on to discuss the discussion she has with three of her students that happen to be revolutionaries. "We went on talking Fitzgerald as we walked down the wide staircase...I felt very young and we laughed as we talked. Then we went our separate ways. We never became more intimate than that." It was only when discussing fiction that they could be intimate. Fiction, she alludes to, causes on to re-evaluate their circumstance. Through the catalyst of fiction, these two groups were able to synergize; overcoming gender, age, and political leanings. Over the issue of dreams, whether the dreams be Americanized or Iranian, could these two opposing groups be intimate.
Furthermore, her discussion group represents a variety of women in Tehran. Yet, it also represents a commonality among women of Tehran and people everywhere. Just as their desire to learn became a passion, so too does the desire for a dream become an obsession. No one can force you to dream, just as no one can force you to learn. However, there comes a point, through literature in this case, that the external pressure causes it to become an obsession. Thus, the dreaming becomes a lifestyle. This is enforced through Nafisi's juxtaposition of the worlds within the books and the world in which she and her students live. There is a universal longing to have dreams and this book approaches the struggles of that realization and the impotence of societies, peoples, and cultures to embrace it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the questions this book posed for me, as read previously in this review. I think that it stimulates good thoughts about life, humanity, the importance of literature, and the relationship between the United States and the Middle East. I would recommend this book. While there were four novels discussed in the text, I felt that my understanding of the themes within Reading Lolita in Tehran came from my previous knowledge of The Great Gatsby. Therefore I encourage you to read The Great Gatsby prior to reading Reading Lolita in Tehran, so as to heighten your understanding of plot discussion and correlation to events in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Transported me to another place
Review: I learned so much from this book. Not only insights into some of the great literature in English, including my favourites, The Great Gatsby and Jane Austen, but also fascinating perspectives on what it was like to be part of the educated and cultured class within Iran when the Islamic revolution occurred. The Austen chapter begins "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Muslim man, regardless of his fortune, must be in want of a nine-year-old virgin wife." That was uttered by one of the students in Nafisi's study group, and is typical of many wry moments emanating from these young women Nafisi had gathered in order to study some of the "great works" of literature in English, in the face of darkening revolutionary shadows which will make it increasingly difficult to do so in public paces. What an amazing way to explore matters of romance and social relationships of interest to these young women in a totally different place, time and culture. It is very easy to forget that in any period of upheaval, there is going to be a variety of viewpoints and passionate advocates of multifarious positions. This is extremely well conveyed by Nafisi. One of the most memorable passages to me (some 6 months after reading this and as an insatiable bookbuyer), is that where she goes into a bookshop to scoop up as many copies of a particular book as she can, as such works and shops become increasingly unobtainable. I found the tale of what of what it was like working in the universities during this period of upheaval , and the various strategies Nafisi employed to get around the increasing strictures, especially fascinating. I did have a little trouble at times differentiating one of the young women from the literature group, but in the end I let it all wash over me and just revel in the emotions and happenings. I got very little sense of the writer's relationship with her husband, which I know isn't the main concern of the book. Nevertheless, it did diminish her a little I felt. We read professional reactions, but I would love to have a little more about how the revolution affected personal relationships. That is a minor point though, as there was some, and it obviously wasn't an autobiography per se. We did manage to glean a range of different reactions through the women students, so that was useful. I found the relationship with the shadowy figure "the magician" a bit unsatisfying. It did, however, add to a sense that the type of insight being looked for wasn't being achieved within what might otherwise be the closer personal relationship of marriage.
All told, I loved this book and have it beside my bed to read again.
Rating: 
Summary: A life through literature...
Review: If most of us were asked to express ourselves using only novels of fiction, we would find it a difficult task. To relate another's work to our own lives is challenge enough; but to further express our most tragic experiences through the symbols and themes of that work, well, it requires a touch of greatness. Azar Nafisi in her novel Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, displays amazing skill as a writer and philosopher by weaving together the essence of works of literature with her own personal story of life under an Islamic regime.
As a native Iranian citizen, Nafisi provides a unique glimpse into the oppressive rule of the Islamic Revolution. It is ironic that she uses "forbidden" and "evil" Western literature to convey a deeply Islamic and Middle-Eastern experience, yet at the same time, profound. This method of revealing her story draws parallels and similarities between the Islamic East and the Christian West. Furthermore, this technique enables Western audiences to better interpret and understand her life during this time period of Iran; it is a means of connecting the two opposing worlds through literature. Through her very style, Nafisi comments on the inseparability of the two hemispheres; moreover, this choice reveals that her belief that the world can best be understood through the lens of another perspective, even another culture.
In an attempt to make sense of her experiences and her life during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Nafisi turns to other cultures and other perspectives to gain understanding about her present situation. Each western novel brings her new insight into her situation: through Nabokov, she is able to understand the mind of the tormenter; through Fitzgerald, the insistent longing for distant dreams; through Austen, the corruptibility of human nature; through James, the effect of conflict on her society. Likewise, each novel and author reveals something new and different to the audience about her life in this culture of oppression; these revelations are too numerous to recollect, but clearly, it is through varying lenses that Nafisi most clearly tells her story. The depth and insight that Nafisi finds about her life and situation through each work of literature is absolutely astounding.
Such cohesive and powerful integration of fiction and reality can only be the result of a life, mind, and existence that is absolutely permeated with works of literature. As a professor of English Literature at the University of Tehran, Nafisi was constantly surrounded by literature, and it naturally follows that the most important experiences of her life can be understood best through the context of her all-consuming passion: novels. The result of her purposeful and powerful construction of her novel is a moving piece of literature that eloquently expresses the stories of her life. Nafisi has accomplished what most of us could not: the successful integration of past and present, and fiction and reality. Then again, the majority of us are not professors of English Literature either.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply, not true.................
Review: What more can you expect from a person who doesn't even believe in GOD? I have been to Iran on a one month trip, and to the school she's talking about in her book, since I am an English Professor, and have found that she has made all this up.
I'm very disappointed to see such great imagination used in such a disgusting way, in order to step on her own country, with her own feet!
Just like Jesus, I can only pray that GOD forgives her..........
Rating:
Summary: In need of serious editing
Review: I wanted so much to like this book. A book about life in Iran in the 1980s written by a woman, a literature professor, sounds fascinating. I was surprised to find that this book isn't very well written. Most of the dialogue and descriptions of the "girls" are just painful and the tone of the book is patronizing. I couldn't help wincing every time she used the term "my girls" and called her friend "my magician." The academic analysis is repetitive and doesn't go very far (almost embarrassingly so), and, unfortunately, we don't learn that much about the author's students or other people around her. The discussions of James, Nabokov and Austen simply reminded me that I could be spending my time reading something much better and more fun.
Rating:
Summary: Too many agendas
Review: My book club was diappointed with this one. Nafisi seems to have too many agendas, and the result is a disorganized, less-than-engaging book. The first, and most interesting, agenda is the story of the women in Nafisi's discussion group and how each experiences Iran under an oppressive regime. This is the part of the story that we were most interested in, but there wasn't enough of it. In the middle 2/3 of the book, the interesting girls were absent. The second agenda was political/historical. We expected this, and were interested in it, but Nafisi's presentation of the political context was too focused on _herself_, and that approach didn't work for us. It didn't stimulate us to learn more about Iran the way other memoirs have prompted us to learn more about, for example, the cultural revolution in China or forced integration in Little Rock. The third agenda was literary criticism. This was not what we expected, and none of us enjoyed this quasi-academic angle. The three agendas didn't weave together well. One of our members said "I think she (Nafisi) should re-write it; it could be really good!" but most of us were just frustrated. On a positive note, we found a great Persian restaurant for our discussion!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Too much of Lit 101 and not enough about how these women really lived their day to day lives. For example, I wanted to know how the author manages to meet the man she calls "the magician" in public when such meetings between unrelated men and women are punishable by torture - perhaps death. How did she justify this to her husband and family? Was the danger not really so great? Did she time her meetings to avoid discovery? Was that possible? So many unanswered questions that would have been so much more interesting than exploring The Great Gatsby -- once again. I found myself slogging through the final third. Nothing's going on and the author is holding back - alot. (Either that or she was a terrible observer.) Her relationship with her readers is superficial, without the level of intimacy and truthfulness that would have made you feel, well - anything. There's so much more she could have shared that would have made for compelling reading. The potential for a really great book is there -- making this all the more disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Oh, my! What a great book! Very interesting reading! See for yourself, buy the book.
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