Reading Lolita in Tehran

A Memoir in Books

By: Azar Nafisi

Narrated by: Azar Nafisi

Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the girls in Azar Nafisi's living room risked removing their veils and immersed themselves in the worlds of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. In this extraordinary memoir, their stories become intertwined with the ones they are reading. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration of the liberating power of literature.

©2003 Azar Nafisi (P)2016 Random House Audio

Speed it up

I was so excited to listen to this book. I love books about women in other cultures. I kept seeing this title come up and was sure I’d like it, but I found this book quite slow— both the story and the performance.
I enjoyed the author’s accent and vocal quality, but she tends to say things without emotion. It made listening a little bit frustrating (and occasionally confusing). She doesn’t vary her delivery very much — she was reading in a flat voice and then said, “she said vehemently.” No vehemence. No fervor. It’s bad enough that I think it negatively affected the whole experience. I really wanted to love the book! When I realized I could listen to the book at 1.25x speed, the experience really improved.
Another issue: I don’t necessarily care about every one of the novels they’re reading. If you’re not a MAJOR classic author fan, it has some dull moments. Perhaps if I’d read every novel the author references I would have enjoyed it more? It was interesting to hear people react to the books from their point of view and try to apply their morals to the novel.
The women in the book study group are interesting, but the author doesn’t flesh them out enough for you. She’s too busy ruminating. It’s more navel-gazing than I was really prepared for — she has whole passages where she’s questioning whether or not her memory is really what happened or if she’s tainting it. And while I understand she wanted to work through that... it’s boring. Yes, memory isn’t a stack of DVDs you can sort through and push play on to relive. They’re fluid. You impart your own bias. This is not a history book, and since she fills page after page with her own opinions in almost a dairy-like writing style anyway, what does it really matter? I wanted an interesting story about women living in Tehran, forming community and escaping through books... and it’s there, but it’s muddy.

Very Literary

This is a very long book , full of analysis of characters and motives for the novels that were discuss by a group of Iranian women. It was interesting for the most part. But at times I found it tedious. I have read most of Jane Austen novels. And found them lovely and entertaining. One thing that it did is peak my interest in maybe reading some Henry James - Daisy Miller.
I read for fun and entertainment so it may be just not my cup of tea .

The Handmaid's Tale is Real

LOVED this book, what an amazing look into the Iranian revolution.... and hopefully not America's future.

Excellent book

When I started reading this book, I found it only moderately interesting, but as I read on I became more and more engrossed. It captured very well what it is like to live in a totalitarian country like Iran. The depiction of how these young woman lived in such a place was well described. I also enjoyed the author’s take on literature I’ve read and literature I haven’t yet read but am now inspired to read. The narration by the author was excellent. I highly recommend this audio book.

A treat for literature people

A wonderful work for literary people! although, "James" is a bit slow. pay attention and enjoy!!

Not what I expected

Not what I expected but in a good way.
I expected a more in-depth study of Lolita.
I expected a more in-depth vie of daily live in the revolution from a woman’s perspective.
What I got a bibliophile’s dream a long list of books I’d like to visit or revisit in the context of this book.
What i got was a the perspective of the revolution from an academic and not that of the everyday woman or the active revolutionary.
All in all a good read.

More James and the Iranian Revolution than Lolita

This is a worthwhile memoir of a female professor living through the revolution and teaching Western literature in Tehran.

Seeing such literature through the eyes of Iranians is fascinating to me as an American.

Fabulous

This is a great read, sparked more of my interest than anticipated. I felt I was there throughout my read. Excellent.

Read by the author!!!!

I absolutely loved hearing the book with the author’s voice. I felt almost like I was sitting with her having a coffee. This book is very insightful as to how people lived the change of the regime and specially women.

Excellent Memoir

This was very long, but I enjoyed it a lot. I don’t usually read memoirs unless it’s for a book club, but this one kept me interested until the very end.