Reading Lolita in Tehran

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed Nafisi's descriptions of life in Iran - I hadn't really understood what it was like during the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I also enjoyed the commentary on the featured English and American novels. However, I hated the way it was written, so much that I had to psych myself up to resume reading after each hiatus. I began hating Azar Nafisi herself. To me, she's guilty of arrogance. One of her key themes is that villains are evil because they lack empathy. I also think villains are evil because they lack self-reflection. I found Nafisi to be supercilious without a deeper self-awareness. I don't regret reading this book, but I am sure glad I am done with it.

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