Reading Lolita in Tehran

A Memoir in Books

By: Azar Nafisi

Narrated by: Azar Nafisi

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.

Critic reviews

“Anyone who has ever belonged to a book group must read this book. Azar Nafisi takes us into the vivid lives of eight women who must meet in secret to explore the forbidden fiction of the West. It is at once a celebration of the power of the novel and a cry of outrage at the reality in which these women are trapped. The ayatollahs don’ t know it, but Nafisi is one of the heroes of the Islamic Republic.”—Geraldine Brooks, author of Nine Parts of Desire

“I was enthralled and moved by Azar Nafisi’s account of how she defied, and helped others to defy, radical Islam’s war against women. Her memoir contains important and properly complex reflections about the ravages of theocracy, about thoughtfulness, and about the ordeals of freedom—as well as a stirring account of the pleasures and deepening of consciousness that result from an encounter with great literature and with an inspired teacher.”—Susan Sontag

“When I first saw Azar Nafisi teach, she was standing in a university classroom in Tehran, holding a bunch of red fake poppies in one hand and a bouquet of daffodils in the other, and asking, What is kitsch? Now, mesmerizingly, she reveals the shimmering worlds she created in those classrooms, inside a revolution that was an apogee of kitsch and cruelty. Here, people think for themselves because James and Fitzgerald and Nabokov sing out against authoritarianism and repression. You will be taken inside a culture, and on a journey, that you will never forget.”—Jacki Lyden, National Public Radio, author of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba

“A memoir about teaching Western literature in revolutionary Iran, with profound and fascinating insights into both. A masterpiece.”—Bernard Lewis, author of What Went Wrong?

The Handmaid's Tale is Real

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

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.

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.

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 .

Authors narration. Context. Insightful. Epiphany of truth

No dislikes Great narrator Soulful memoir The Tyranny of theocracy and its impact on the soul