Reading Lolita in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi
Buy on AmazonEvery Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Azar Nafisi, a bold and inspired teacher, secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. Some came from conservative and religious families, others were progressive and secular; some had spent time in jail. They were shy and uncomfortable at first, unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, but soon they removed their veils and began to speak more freely–their stories intertwining with the novels they were reading by Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov.…
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"There is a difference of opinion amongst some professors, especially the Iranian expats. Many felt that it was not representative of Iranians. Incidentally, I was one Azar Nafasi’s literature students. Maybe this is why the book was more exciting and interesting to me. Years later I called her from London and interviewed her for the BBC. We both got really emotional. This is not to say that I necessarily agree with her views, but I believe that authors have every right to express their point of view. If you don’t agree with it you are free to write your own book. People who write a novel or autobiography are not bound by the duty to be unbiased. They are free to make emotional comments, and I think this is the most important difference between a journalist and an author. Yes she was. I knew about the meetings but I didn’t go. I was already fluent in English and I had read most of the books they discussed. It was mostly for girls who had not lived abroad or had the exposure to English novels or lifestyles. She handpicked a bunch of people that she thought really needed to have their eyes opened more. She tried to give those people a different set of possibilities and I think it was an absolutely beautiful thing to do."
Iran · fivebooks.com