Rating: 
Summary: Literature: an emancipating force against destructive Islam.
Review: Professor Nafisi is a gifted storyteller. Her language is strong, compelling, descriptive, engaging and she switches roles as the story unfolds. She re-lives the role of professor at Tehran University where registered and unregistered students came to her classes because of their reputation for excellence. Some of her students even returned to those classes after having completed them. How many professors can boast of that!Then Professor Nafisi the woman emerges, an insulted, enraged, persecuted woman who is part of a larger society of women whom Iran's leader, the Imam Khomeini, felt must be protected, covered from head to toe, so that all possible Western influences would be expunged from them. Then she switches to her professorial role and describes the various Western authors who formed the basis of her literature classes. They represented ideas diametrically opposed to the professed ideals of Islam. Freedom of thought is dangerous and a university, including Tehran University where Professor Nafisi taught, must excise from its classrooms all opportunities for learning such ideas of abomination. Azar Nafisi the woman, the teacher, was a fighter; she refused to wear the veil and ultimately left Tehran University, choosing to give up a beloved profession rather than become part of a destructive force to wrench freedom of thought from students. From the perspective of Western society it seems incomprehensible that a government would have the gall to tell women that their eyelashes are too long; fruit is being ingested too suggestively; an offending tiny piece of hair is showing from under the veil; the fabric of the diaphanous robes is too thin; to enact a law that the acceptable age of marriage for a woman is in her adolescence! Yet the chokingly oppressive rule of the Islamic Fundamentalists was able to enforce these offensive dictums! It's no wonder that Professor Nafisi chose to clandestinely meet in her home with some of her former female students to discuss the forbidden: Nabokov, Austen, Fitzgerald, James. When all has been robbed from an individual, there must be a way to hold onto one's soul and for the Professor it was her love of language, thought and freedom of expression. For the young women it was a powerful desire to live and operate outside the veil. Once in her home, the young women would shed their covering to display colorful earrings, tee shirts and jeans. "Reading Lolita in Tehran" was all the timelier because of America's involvement in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is imperative that we Americans, who often take liberty too far, recognize that in other parts of the world even one's mind belongs to imperious rulers who claim to be champions of purity and holiness! The one criticism I have of this book is that it's chronology; the skipping around from living room to classroom and various parts of history from the 80's to '97 makes it hard to piece the whole puzzle together. The chronology is disjointed. One final comment, it would be ideal for the reader to have read the works of the authors so valued by Professor Nafisi in order to fully understand and appreciate her analysis of them, the ideas they were professing, and the parallels she was drawing between these ideas and the destructive beliefs being foisted by the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Rating: 
Summary: Great content, a bit disjointed
Review: I was really eager to read this book because I had heard such wonderful things about it. While Ms. Nafisi's writing was consistently strong, her imagery vibrant, I did have a bit of a hard time getting through this book. It seemed like the necessary background about certain key scenes was missing and her timeline jumped around a bit. Also, it seemed like her tone would switch back and forth from academic to traditional storytelling prose, and that lost me, too. For these reasons, I never really got enveloped in the story--each time I picked the book up, I felt like I was starting over. That said, she does have a fascinating story to tell that is empowering, especially to women.
Rating: 
Summary: AMAZING
Review: This is the first book in a long while that I have been recommending to friends, family, and strangers. Deeply personal, insightful, and clever, Azar Nafisi's touching memior leaves you aching for more. I absolutely could not put this book down; it has made my top 5 list of books!
Rating:
Summary: A Tale of Thousands of Nights and Days
Review: This is a beautifully woven tale of a personal and professional journey told through the stories of her students, reading group and her own experiences. Ms. Nafisi's use of the characters and construct of English literature to tell her story inspires me to go back and read anew each of the works in her syllabus. She puts a human face on Iran, often warm, loving and humorous -- more often frightening and unreal -- a country many of us know only through the news media. While the women in her reading group share the same hopes and dreams as women throughout the world, these women take great personal risk each time they gather to share their love for works of fiction. Each developed her own brand of courage throughout.
Rating:
Summary: A must read....
Review: Azar Nafisi was interviewed recently on PBS radio and her "live" voice is as rich and warm as her written voice in READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN. How remarkable that one who was so put upon by the ruthless regime that seized power in Iran around 1980 and continues today could write such a wonderful and compelling story. Ms Nafisi says she thanks the "Revolution" because without it she might not have fully realized how wonderful freedom is. She left Iran in 1997 to return to the US where she had obtained her education. At this time-according to the radio interview and book jacket--she teaches English literature at Johns Hopkins University. Before I read Ms. Nafisi's book, I had a very negative view of Nabokov's 'Lolita' which has been translated into at least two films, one starring James Mason and the other more recent version starring Jeffrey Irons. The latter film version was not distributed to theaters in the US owing to an outcry from the US public about the content which included incest. I have to admit I was against showing of the Irons film in the US, but since I know nothing about the interpretation in the Irons film my thinking could biased. Whatever the case for Irons' film, Ms. Nafisi has exonerated Nabokov as far as I am concerned. Apparently, he was on Lola's side and trying to show the reader how really awful Humbert the stepfather was. Humbert blamed Lola (whom he called Lolita) for her own rape. I may finally read 'Lolita' or I may not, but I have a different perspective. Ms. Nafisi has written a book about Nabokov's novels that I plan to read since I am now convinced I not have given this author a fair hearing. Ms Nafisi's memoir works on several levels. On one level, her book is literary criticism. Through her exchange with her students, she reviews selected works by several classic authors including: Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Jane Austen. On a second level she narrates the tale of a group of female students who continued their studies in English literary criticism at Ms. Nafisi's apartment after she resigned from her teaching position. (She resigned because the intrusion of the 'Revolution' into her affairs and the affairs of the institutions where she worked.) On a third level, Ms Nafisi is reveals how a civilized nation slipped into madness as the result of a 'religious' movement. On the highest level, this book challenges the reader to ask, "What is morality?" I found myself laughing and crying as I read Ms. Nafisi's beautifully written book. She has an important story to tell, and I hope every person (especially women) in America will read this very entertaining and informative work. I sent a copy to my sister who is a high school librarian with the suggestion she encourage seniors to read the book. In my opinion it ranks with Victor Frankel's, 'Man's Search for Meaning.' You can think of it as 'woman's search for meaning'. Nafisi implies there is no difference between Nazis Frankel faced and the "religious" zealots she faced.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written and full of insight
Review: Professor Nafisi dishes the dirt on life in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Apparently it is not a fun place to live; women lost many rights that they had previously enjoyed during the Shah's reign. The author describes how Ayatollah Khomeini attempted to remake Iran and it's citizens into a fantasy society from his own imagination; a dark, drab place obsessed with sex, yet stripped of all forms of beauty. Unfortunately, his fantasy had to be maintained by a brutal police force specializing in humiliating and disrespecting women with constant inspections for make-up, nail polish and other things "unislamic" and punishable by floggings, fines and imprisonment (women are seen as sex objects and forced to cover everything but their hands and faces so men will not be distracted by thoughts of sex). Nafisi describes the daily struggles she and her pupils endured just to hold onto their own identities and their sanity. Literature was both their escape and their inspiration. This is a heart-breaking story of people yearning for freedom of thought, expression and movement, yet surrounded by death, censorship and oppression. However, there is some light, finally at the end of the tunnel as some of them manage to flee to other lands. This book would make a great movie!
Rating:
Summary: Perfection for anyone who loves literature
Review: I just finished "Reading Lolita in Tehran" which I have been engrossed in for several days. My first reaction is sadness that I have finished it. My second is to start reading all those canonical authors that I have managed to neglect over the years. This is a beautifully written book about literature and the transforming effect it can have on people's lives, even in extremely dire circumstances (such as in Iran for the past 20 years). It's also the story of several thoughtful, feeling, fully unique individuals who have lived through and coped with experiences most of us can barely contemplate. I am floored by the author's command of language and ideas. I have already recommended it to several people. Were I ever to meet the author, I would thank her for writing this story, and giving life to the lives she has chronicled.
Rating:
Summary: A Thought Provoking Adventure!
Review: I just read this book with my book group. It was one of the highest rated books among the group. On a scale of 1-5, it averaged a 4. As a group, we previously felt ignorant about what was going on in Iran over the last 20 some years. This book took us on an adventure that taught us so much about Iran and the people of Iran during those times. We found the various points of view and criticisms of the literature fascinating. I personally felt stimulated and inspired to want to read or re-read all the works of fiction discussed and also to learn more about Iran and the Iranian people. We all also agreed that the book was full of wonderful bits of wisdom (so get out your highlighter!) from Azar Nafisi herself. The one consistent criticism from the readers in my book group, however, was that at times the book gets confusing when Azar Nafisi goes back and forth in time (the reason some members didn't give it a 5). Also, a few of us felt that we really didn't get to know her "girls" well enough...and we wanted to! I personally think, to get the most out of Reading Lolita in Tehran, it is important to take your time to read it so that you can truly absorb what Nafisi is sharing with the readers. We had a memorable book group meeting due to our guest of honor...an Iranian woman. She was extremely generous in sharing Iranian culture and traditions with us. She also brought us books, traditional Iranian foods, a robe and a few scarves that she put on for us that she wears on her return visits, and her fascinating insights. Lucky me, I just happen to meet her at a park with my children one day! Near the end of our meeting we had Turkish coffee with Persian pastries and concluded by taking guesses at our fortunes in the dregs in our cups (they drink Turkish coffee and eat pastries during their classes and Manna and Azin-2 of the "Nafisi's girls"-tell their fortunes from the dregs). Thank you for this treasure Azar Nafisi!
Rating:
Summary: Tainted by elitism
Review: I greatly looked forward to this much-hyped book, but after the first chapters, found it easy to put down. Those who love Henry James are sure to like this book, but it was spoiled for me by a wholly unacknowledged elitism masquerading as universal truth.
What do I mean? Azin adores what one might call "the snobby authors": Austen, James, Nabokov, those who are not only above the rabble, but often don't even acknowledge its existence! One can read through Azin's book from cover to cover and never think there are any poor people in Tehran. The lowest point for me was when she said she felt "utter contempt" for a student who preferred a Gorky character to a character in Austen. One does, unfortunately, occasionally encounter literature professors who honestly believe their own perspective is the only valid one, but it's a very very odd argument for the democracy and imaginative freedom Azin claims to support passionately. Apparently we are only free to draw the same conclusions she does. She is patronizing and disdainful towards Steinbeck but makes the most ludicrous defenses of Austen (I happen to enjoy Austen; I came to enjoy Austen after initially finding her snobbery too unbearable but that snobbery is so close to Azin's own view, aparently, that it is invisible to her) claiming that we can see passion in the very absence of passion.
Although it was sobering and illuminating to witness the price that even sheltered upper-class women have to pay under an Islamist theocracy, one understands all too well after reading Azin's book why, by and large, feminism failed to move beyond the privileged to engage working class women.
Rating:
Summary: Complex and Moving!
Review: I read this book for a variety of reasons and I was rewarded on every level. It gave me insight into the world of Islamic Fundamentalism through the lives of some of the women who are forced to live according to its tenets; it increased my understanding of an important historical movement; it gave me some wonderful and nuanced insights into some favorite works of literature; and I was able to share the author's growth through very tumultuous times. This memoir is beautifully and suspensefully written--one really comes to care deeply about these brave women. Questions of courage and indentity are at the core of this book--how does one relate to a repressive regime without effacing oneself? This book is a journey that illuminates some of the conflicts at the core of our current age. I encourage you to read it!
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