Citind Lolita în Teheran

Azar Nafisi hosts seven of her women students at home in Tehran. They read Western novels under Iran’s Islamic rule. Some come from strict homes. Others have spent time in jail for political reasons. At first, fear keeps them from saying what they think. As they open up, they share their hopes. They also talk of things that have let them down. They see links between their lives and those in books. They read Austen, Fitzgerald, James and Nabokov.

Outside, hard-line rulers shut down places of higher learning. They also curb what people can show in the arts. Inside, the women have space to think and speak freely. Their talks show women’s lives in Iran amid its revolution. The book blends memories with talks on books and social history. It shows how reading links to freedom under harsh rule.

Nafisi taught English literature at two places of higher learning in Tehran. In 1981, she lost her post for refusing the veil. Her father was Tehran’s mayor from 1961 to 1963. Her mother was among the first women Iran elected to parliament. Nafisi went to school in England and Switzerland. She then came back to Iran. There, she saw her father’s arrest. She moved to America in 1997 and taught at Johns Hopkins.

Silvia Osman translated this edition from English. She also wrote notes for it. It forms part of the Actual series.