Reading Lolita in Tehran

Menelvagor · 04-24-2004, 08:42 PM

Has anyone read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi? It has recently jumped onto the best-seller list in America, so I thought it might be known. I've been reading it for a seminar class, and the debate has gotten fairly heated, and I thought I'd like to see what some mooters thought about it. The objections that have been surfacing have been largely concerning Nafisi's style, that she writes in a way that doesn't emfasize what she intends, that most people will simply read the book to confirm what they feel about the Middle East. It has a problem because it is a pro-Western book, focusing on the repressions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and, for readers in America, could be read as nothing more than a confirmation of Western ideals. What do you think? I'll post my own ideas if anyone's read the book.

cee2lee2 · 05-12-2004, 09:41 PM

I just saw this thread yesterday and didn't respond because I haven't read the book. However, the latest issue of The Christian Century arrived yesterday and had a very interesting review of it. It was included in an article comparing 3 books about reading and the effect of the books read on the readers. It sounded worth reading and I'll look for it at the library next week.

04-24-2004, 08:42 PM	#1
Menelvagor Elf Lord Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: lurking on the edge of conversations Posts: 924	Reading Lolita in Tehran Has anyone read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi? It has recently jumped onto the best-seller list in America, so I thought it might be known. I've been reading it for a seminar class, and the debate has gotten fairly heated, and I thought I'd like to see what some mooters thought about it. The objections that have been surfacing have been largely concerning Nafisi's style, that she writes in a way that doesn't emfasize what she intends, that most people will simply read the book to confirm what they feel about the Middle East. It has a problem because it is a pro-Western book, focusing on the repressions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and, for readers in America, could be read as nothing more than a confirmation of Western ideals. What do you think? I'll post my own ideas if anyone's read the book.

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05-12-2004, 09:41 PM	#2
cee2lee2 Elf Lord Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: 2nd star to the left..... Posts: 566	I just saw this thread yesterday and didn't respond because I haven't read the book. However, the latest issue of The Christian Century arrived yesterday and had a very interesting review of it. It was included in an article comparing 3 books about reading and the effect of the books read on the readers. It sounded worth reading and I'll look for it at the library next week.