Reading Lolita in Tehran

Reviews

“Remarkable . . . an eloquent brief on the transformative power of fiction.”—The New York Times

“An inspiring account of an insatiable desire for intellectual freedom.”—USA Today

“A poignant, searing tale about the secret ways Iranian women defy the regime. . . . [Nafisi] makes you want to rush back to all these books to experience the hidden aspects she’s elucidated.”—Salon

“A quietly magnificent book . . . [Nafisi’s] passion is irresistible.”—LA Weekly

“Stunning . . . a literary life raft on Iran’s fundamentalist sea . . . all readers should read it.”—Margaret Atwood

“Anyone who has ever belonged to a book group must read this book.”—Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse

“[A] vividly braided memoir . . . anguished and glorious.”—The New Republic

“Certain books by our most talented essayists. . . carry inside their covers the heat and struggle of a life’s central choice being made and the price being paid, while the writer tells us about other matters, and leaves behind a path of sadness and sparkling loss. Reading Lolita in Tehran is such a book.”—The Atlantic Monthly

“Transcends categorization as memoir, literary criticism or social history, though it is superb as all three . . . Nafisi has produced an original work on the relationship between life and literature.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Brilliant . . . So much is right with this book, if not with this world.”—The Boston Globe

“An intimate memoir of life under a repressive regime and a celebration of the vitality of literature . . . as rich and profound as the novels Nafisi teaches.”—The Miami Herald

“[Nafisi] reminds us why we read in the first place.”—Newsday

“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 Expand reviews