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travelnovels reblogged this from fragmentedknowledge and added:
one person’s review...Tehran - just one...the many great...
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futsin liked this
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fragmentedknowledge posted this
Book #57: Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
“We were unhappy. We compared our situation to our own potentials, to what we could have had, and somehow there was little consolation in the fact that millions of people were unhappier than we were. Why should other people’s misery make us happier or more content?”
While Nafisi’s account reaches back to the early days of the Revolution when she was a professor at the University of Tehran, it mostly takes place in the late 90s when she decided to host a literature class in her home for seven specially selected students.
The novel is divided into four parts each focused on a different author or work, and each is related back to a specific aspect of life in Iran.
The subject of higher education in Iran is one that is very dear to my heart. People who speak out against the Islamic Republic are punished by being denied higher education. Among these people are the Baha’is. Baha’is are the largest religious minority in Iran, and unlike Jews and Christians, they are not recognized as a separate religion and are heavily persecuted for their beliefs. Among the persecutions of Baha’is is the denial of higher education, something that has been happening to them for a long time. I thought of the friends in Iran a lot while reading this novel.
I experienced so many contrasting emotions while reading this novel: joy, sadness, anger, hilarity, sympathy. It is definitely a thought-provoking read and one that is worthy of everyone’s attention
