Summary of Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I chose seven of my best and most committed students and invited them to come to my house every Thursday morning to discuss literature. I was sure at least one would turn against me. But the students stood by me, and took off their headscarves.

#2 I had many students over the years, and I would often photograph them together. I would always include Nassrin, but she would always be behind something or someone else.

#3 I taught a class on the relation between fiction and reality, and we read Persian classical literature, such as the tales of Scheherazade, along with Western classics. We discussed how we can’t escape the reality of black-scarved, timid faces in the city below.

#4 The living room was a symbol of my nomadic life. I had borrowed pieces of furniture from different times and places, and they created a symmetry that the other, more carefully furnished rooms lacked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822548008

IRB Media

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Insights on Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I chose seven of my best and most committed students and invited them to come to my house every Thursday morning to discuss literature. I was sure at least one would turn against me. But the students stood by me, and took off their headscarves.

#2

I had many students over the years, and I would often photograph them together. I would always include Nassrin, but she would always be behind something or someone else.

#3

I taught a class on the relation between fiction and reality, and we read Persian classical literature, such as the tales of Scheherazade, along with Western classics. We discussed how we can’t escape the reality of black-scarved, timid faces in the city below.

#4

The living room was a symbol of my nomadic life. I had borrowed pieces of furniture from different times and places, and they created a symmetry that the other, more carefully furnished rooms lacked.

#5

My parents had an apartment on the third floor of a building that overlooked the Elburz Mountains. We could see the mountains from our second-story apartment, and we would spend hours in that room, reading and listening to the sounds of the city below us.

#6

I was teaching at the University of Allameh Tabatabai, one of the most liberal universities in Iran, when I was suddenly asked to resign. The students had threatened to boycott classes, and it was of some satisfaction to me to find out later that despite threats of reprisals, they did boycott my replacement.

#7

I had dreamt of creating a special class that would give me the freedoms denied me in the classes I taught in the Islamic Republic. I wanted to teach a handful of selected students who were not handpicked by the government.

#8

I chose my students based on their fragility and courage. They were what you would call loners, who did not belong to any particular group or sect. I admired their ability to survive not despite but in some ways because of their solitary lives.

#9

Mahshid is a professor at the university I go to. She has always been there for me, and I have never seen her speak about her jail experiences, which left her with a permanently impaired kidney.

#10

Manna’s poems were in colors, and she wanted to wear outrageous colors. She was one of those people who would experience ecstasy but not happiness.

#11

There were two important men in Sanaz’s life. Her brother, who was nineteen years old and had not yet finished high school, was the darling of their parents. He was spoiled and his one obsession was Sanaz. She had tried to be patient with him, but he was becoming increasingly annoying.

#12

I had never seen Sanaz without her uniform, and stood there almost transfixed as she took off her robe and scarf. She was wearing an orange T-shirt tucked into tight jeans and brown boots, yet the most radical transformation was the mass of shimmering dark brown hair that now framed her face.

#13

Yassi and Nassrin came in and looked around for seats. Azin patted the empty part of the couch, inviting Yassi with his hand. She slid between Azin and Manna. They kept that arrangement, faithfully, to the end.

#14

I had chosen the books for my class because they seemed dedicated to the study of literature. I wanted to see if the girls’ faith in the