Rosanne Rosen, PTPI’s Senior Vice President of Operations, bravely volunteered to share her thoughts on the first discussion questions. Her answers are below. We are eager to hear your thoughts and opinions. Join the discussion and leave a comment!
1. Would you recommend this book to others? Discuss your reasons.
I would definitely recommend Reading Lolita in Tehran to anyone. Our book club members found some initial challenges with the book since none of us had read Lolita and weren’t as familiar with some of the other works of literature mentioned in the book. However, what I found fascinating was more Nafisi’s dialogue about life in Iran, the struggles women face and their absolute desire for education. Growing up in Kansas, education was a right and going to college was expected. There was never any doubt about ‘if’ I would go to college, it was just ‘where’ and what career path I would choose.
I often wondered while reading the book, what would I have done in a similar situation? Would I have been involved in the protests? Would I have just ‘gone along’ to not create trouble or problems for myself or my family? I don’t think one can answer that question with real honesty unless faced with the absolute consequences the women in Iran face. We started reading this book while the election protest was taking place in the streets of Iran and I couldn’t help but stare at the pictures of the young women bravely protesting and wonder what their lives were like and feeling more of a bond with them than I ever would have before reading the book.
2. What were your initial reactions to the book? Could you relate to the author or did you more closely relate to one of her students whose lives we became more involved with as we progressed through the narrative? What were your impressions of the correlation between famous works of literature and the daily struggles of life in Iran? Would you have joined the book club knowing the risks involved with being a part of the club?
I enjoyed the book from the beginning and would love to meet Nafisi. She was articulate, passionate, and encouraging to her students and the kind of teacher every student wants. I felt somewhat of a kinship with her as we are very close in age. In the beginning of the book when she talks about the events leading up to and during the Iranian revolution, I couldn’t help but think about the Iranian students I shared classrooms with at Drake University. We were friendly; however they had their clubs and I had mine. Our paths didn’t cross except in the classroom. Never once can I remember did I ever take the time to explore with them the details of their life in Iran.
I do remember one conversation with one of the Iranian students that she didn’t know if she would ever go back to Iran. I know I’ve changed since I was that 18-year-old young woman more interested in my own studies and social life; however, now looking back with the wisdom of time, how I wish I had invited her to lunch, coffee, to my dorm room, somewhere to learn more about her and her life in Iran. It’s difficult to say whether or not I would have joined the book club knowing the risks. I’d like to answer with a resounding YES! However, in reality, I am only basing that on my own set of values, beliefs, traditions which have been instilled in me since childhood.
The opinions expressed by PTPI staff and other book club members are entirely their own and are not necessarily the views of People to People International or that of PTPI’s Officers, Board of Directors and Board of Trustees.
Tags: Azar Nafisi, Global Book Club, Iran, Reading Lolita in Tehran
I would also like to share my thoughts on these first two questions.
1. I recommend this book because I feel that the author, Azar Nafisi enables you to experience life in Iran in a way that you cannot get from watching the news. I feel that this book is especially insightful as to how intelligent women cope with oppression of all forms.
2. Immediately, the reader is introduced to more than a handful of important characters. Trying to identify the characters with names I had not heard before was overwhelming. In retrospect, I realize I should have taken notes about each of the characters throughout the book.
The book did not captivate me as I had originally thought it would. I was never able to read more than 10-15 pages at a time and thus, the lack of continuity made it more difficult for me to absorb the material. I struggled with the literary references and skimmed through some of the sections. I do not have a background in studying English literature, and being unfamiliar with Nabokov and Henry James was frustrating for me. Eventually, however, I attained an appreciation for the books the girls read and began to understand how they found solace in their readings.
The idea of a secret book club was fascinating to me and I could imagine myself sneaking away to join a secret and illegal women’s book club; throwing off my chador to be comfortable, eat, laugh, complain about my daily struggles and discuss literature with other women. I can see how these meetings were therapeutic and enabled the women to cope with their daily realities.
I would like to share my comments on the first two discussion questions as well.
1. I would recommend this book to individuals who are interested in learning more about the Iranian Revolution and women’s rights. I would also recommend it to those who have a fascination with literature; specifically, the idea of how particular literary works can transcend from being merely words on pages to becoming integral pieces of a person’s life. If you are not interested in such topics, this may be a challenging read. Throughout the book, literary references are intertwined with the author’s experiences and stories, providing a very unique format for delivering a message. The style in which the book is written may be captivating to some, while frustrating to others. Despite my initial difficulties with writing style, I was eventually able to feel as though I was being drawn into the story and the characters began to come to life for me.
2. Initially, I had a difficult time becoming engaged in the story and connecting with the characters in this book. In certain passages, I found Nafisi’s writing to be very poetic and lively. In other sections of the book, I thought it was more academic and difficult to process. The lack of a continuous writing style presented a challenge for me in terms of settling into the rhythm of the book.
Within the book, Nafisi weaves in and out of the pages of several classic literary works, connecting the literature to various aspects of daily life in Iran. What I found most fascinating in her discussions of literature, both personally and within her book club, is that she seemed to find refuge in the pages of those beloved books. The literature was a sanctuary for her. It kept her going and gave her a sense of purpose during difficult times. Although it was sometimes difficult to understand, not being well-versed in some of the works she discusses, it was at the same time easy to discern the feelings she was trying to convey. When experiencing difficulty processing her literary references, I often referred back to the following quote from page. 39, “Curiously, the novels we escaped into led us finally to question and prod our own realities, about which we felt so helplessly speechless”. I felt this was the perfect explanation of the reason why those literary references are so important to the story.
I wanted to share my thoughts about the first 2 questions.
I admit I had a really difficult time trying to get into this book. I would only recommend it to a particular type of reader. A casual reader might find the details and complexity of names and characters difficult to stick with. I found myself at a loss for not knowing the books discussed, and her correlations about the women in the group and the books of her classroom were difficult to make.
I agree with Kristine’s statements about Nafisi’s writing style. When she was more poetic and conversational, I was engaged, but in the others that were more academic I found I was losing interest. I put this book down many times, which doesn’t usually happen for me.
I finally gave up about 85 pages in. Maybe at some point I will pick it back up.