Reading Lolita in Tehran
I'd been half intending to read this book for a while. It seemed like one of those books I should read, even though it only half interested me. Then I read this fantastic essay titled Men Explain Lolita to Me, and shortly after that I came across this book at a library sale. And that was that.
I ended up liking this book much more than I expected to, for the most part. I entered into it worried that I would miss most of the literary references. I've only read 2/3 of Lolita, after all. But the book stretches far beyond Nabakov's most famous work, encompassing not only his other work but a wealth of classic Western authors. Most of the references are explained well enough that I was able to understand them even if I hadn't read the source material. Though the book was much more interesting when I was familiar with the work being discussed and could compare my own interpretation to that of Nafisi and her students.
The book is divided into four sections. Lolita concerns the formation of Nafisi's secret, female-only literature class, which met in her living room. Fitzgerald backs up to Nafisi's own time as a student and her early years teaching college, along with the early years of the Islamic Revolution. James concerns the Iran-Iraq war and Nafisi's expulsion from the university. And Austen is about her decision to disband her class and move to the United States.
My only previous knowledge of the Islamic Revolution comes from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and a brief reading of the Wikipedia article. Nafisi was older than Satrapi when the revolution began (25 as compared to 10), so she has a different perspective on it, as well as memories of life before the strict regime to draw on. I learned a lot, and I enjoyed that it was put in the context of literature I'm familiar with. Opinions about the war are matched to opinions about the books students are reading, and the various class discussions presented in the book become very layered.
And now I have a strong desire to re-read/finish Lolita. It's a good thing I never throw old books out.
I ended up liking this book much more than I expected to, for the most part. I entered into it worried that I would miss most of the literary references. I've only read 2/3 of Lolita, after all. But the book stretches far beyond Nabakov's most famous work, encompassing not only his other work but a wealth of classic Western authors. Most of the references are explained well enough that I was able to understand them even if I hadn't read the source material. Though the book was much more interesting when I was familiar with the work being discussed and could compare my own interpretation to that of Nafisi and her students.
The book is divided into four sections. Lolita concerns the formation of Nafisi's secret, female-only literature class, which met in her living room. Fitzgerald backs up to Nafisi's own time as a student and her early years teaching college, along with the early years of the Islamic Revolution. James concerns the Iran-Iraq war and Nafisi's expulsion from the university. And Austen is about her decision to disband her class and move to the United States.
My only previous knowledge of the Islamic Revolution comes from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and a brief reading of the Wikipedia article. Nafisi was older than Satrapi when the revolution began (25 as compared to 10), so she has a different perspective on it, as well as memories of life before the strict regime to draw on. I learned a lot, and I enjoyed that it was put in the context of literature I'm familiar with. Opinions about the war are matched to opinions about the books students are reading, and the various class discussions presented in the book become very layered.
And now I have a strong desire to re-read/finish Lolita. It's a good thing I never throw old books out.
Comments
Post a Comment