Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
Apr. 5th, 2008 05:53 pmReading Lolita in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi
347 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir
A memoir about living in Iran as a woman during the Islamic revolution, and about as depressing as it sounds. I really wanted to like this book, but it failed to meet my expectations. It is a better-than-mediocre memoir, but I've read some much more engaging ones (i.e. All the Fishes Come Home to Roost, by the lovely![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rachelmanija) and Reading Lolita in Tehran is a typical bestseller in being overrated. The narrative is oddly disjointed, jumping randomly in setting and chronology within each section. Nafisi's story is heartwarming but becomes rather tedious as the book progresses. I did enjoy the gems of literary analysis, which appealed to my English geekiness; comparing Pride and Prejudice to an eighteenth-century dance is aptly appropriate. I liked the themes and concepts of Reading Lolita in Tehran (I even read Lolita as preparation for it, though I'm disappointed that I didn't read Gatsby and Joyce as well for background). However, it feels too much like cathartic writing--too personal. At some inevitable point, its haphazard recollections and persistently wistful tone will bore the reader.
I believe that I would truly enjoy Nafisi's literary analyses, as they were by far my favorite aspect of her memoir. Alas, much as I wish otherwise, I cannot recommend this book.
by Azar Nafisi
347 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir
A memoir about living in Iran as a woman during the Islamic revolution, and about as depressing as it sounds. I really wanted to like this book, but it failed to meet my expectations. It is a better-than-mediocre memoir, but I've read some much more engaging ones (i.e. All the Fishes Come Home to Roost, by the lovely
rachelmanija) and Reading Lolita in Tehran is a typical bestseller in being overrated. The narrative is oddly disjointed, jumping randomly in setting and chronology within each section. Nafisi's story is heartwarming but becomes rather tedious as the book progresses. I did enjoy the gems of literary analysis, which appealed to my English geekiness; comparing Pride and Prejudice to an eighteenth-century dance is aptly appropriate. I liked the themes and concepts of Reading Lolita in Tehran (I even read Lolita as preparation for it, though I'm disappointed that I didn't read Gatsby and Joyce as well for background). However, it feels too much like cathartic writing--too personal. At some inevitable point, its haphazard recollections and persistently wistful tone will bore the reader.I believe that I would truly enjoy Nafisi's literary analyses, as they were by far my favorite aspect of her memoir. Alas, much as I wish otherwise, I cannot recommend this book.
