Quotables: Well-Loved Books

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It was showing signs of wear: 

the dearer a book was to my heart, 

the more battered and bruised it became.

- From Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Title: Reading Lolita in Tehran
Author: Azar Nafisi
Genre: Nonfiction, memoir
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003
Source: Borrowed from my sister-in-law
Read for: Fun

Reading Lolita in Tehran is the memoir of Azar Nafisi, a college professor living in Iran who deals with the oppression of women and ideas through literature. Divided into four parts and focusing on four novels, Nafisi takes us through a private literature class held in her home after her expulsion from the university, her experiences teaching in universities in Tehran, and her experience of the war between Iran and Iraq.

First, a confession: I have not read Lolita. I tried once, and despite the beauty of the writing, I could not get past the subject material. With that said, I am familiar with the plot. Of the four novels especially highlighted in this novel, I had read two. There were also myriad other novels referenced, some of which I had read, but most of which I had not. While I'm sure my enjoyment of Reading Lolita in Tehran would have been greatly enhanced by having read all the novels mentioned, I still had a strong and positive experience with this book.

Azar Nafisi has a passionate relationship with literature, and I think that in and of itself drew me to this book. I think as readers, we enjoy reading about other readers; we like to see ourselves reflected in the books we choose. Nafisi paints her experiences through the lens of literature, which I think gives reading more meaning; she uses it as a means to interpret circumstances that seem senseless to her. Her interpretations are intelligent and beyond what I have studied -- I've only taken one literary theory class, and it was interesting to be exposed to literary theory once again. However, beyond her intelligent use of the books, a more emotional, passionate love for them is also clearly present.

The circumstances Nafisi illustrates through literature are also fascinating. While I'm interested in the Middle East, I had never read anything specifically about Iran. I never knew that there was a period of time where women experienced more freedom, before a religious revolution necessitated the scarf covering and other restrictions. The day-to-day regulations, as well as the horrors some of her students expressed, awed me. I can't imagine living my life in a constant aura of fear and uncertainty.

I enjoyed the two sections sandwiching the rest of the book about Nafisi's private class for women most in the book. I expected the entire book to be focused on these classes, and was a little disappointed when the narrative veered in a different direction, although I still greatly enjoyed the book.

The "icing on the cake" for me was Nafisi's beautiful writing. The copy wasn't my own, or else I would have dogeared and highlighted the life out of it. Instead, I had dozens of tiny slips of paper stuck into the pages I loved. Afterward, I copied out the quotes onto a Word document on my computer. Here are just two of my favorites:

My daughter, Negar, blushes every time I tell her that her particular brand of obstinacy, her passionate defense of what she considers to be justice, comes from her mother’s reading too many nineteenth-century novels when she was pregnant with her. […] Well, don’t they say that what a mother eats during her pregnancy, as well as her moods and emotions, all have an effect on the child?

 I'm curious what effect my reading will have on my child -- there has been a lot of fantasy reading going on during this pregnancy.

A novel is not an allegory, I said as the period was about to come to an end. It is the sensual experience of another world. If you don’t enter that world, hold your breath with the characters and become involved in their destiny, you won’t be able to empathize, and empathy is at the heart of the novel. This is how you read a novel: you inhale the experience. So start breathing. I just want you to remember this. That is all; class dismissed.

 I don't think I can say much beyond that. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a beautiful book, one that will expand your desire to read and appreciate literature, as well as an eye-opener to a different culture. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars

Warnings: Violence, discussion of sexuality

Middle East Challenge

I have quietly picked a few challenges to join for this upcoming year of 2011. They are listed on my Challenges tab but I haven't written the introductory posts yet, because I didn't want to bombard my blog with all of them at once. However, I just finished my last test before Thanksgiving break, so I can catch up a little!

I became aware of this challenge thanks to the Zen Leaf, and I was instantly excited for a couple of reasons. First of all, I am going to participate in the 2011 South Asian Challenge hosted by S. Krishna's Books once the challenge begins in January. I have long been interested in the culture and especially the literature of India, so I was very excited to participate. However, my interest also includes the Middle East, which is not included in that challenge. Therefore, I was excited to find another challenge that would encourage me to read some of the Middle Eastern books on my TBR.

Secondly, (kind of a trivial, personal reason) I have in particular one book on my TBR that my dad has been trying to get me to read for years, The Haj by Leon Uris. I read about 200 pages of it (it's a chunker) and never picked it up again because I was reading it during a busy nightmare semester. As I will only have two classes next semester (hooray for graduating!) I thought maybe I would have more time to get through this one. Maybe I will eventually return it to him! Haha.

Anyway, enough about me... This challenge is hosted by Helen's Book Blog. It began August 1, 2010 and runs through July 31, 2011 (in honor of Ramadan). The books must be either by an author from one of the countries considered by Helen to be part of the Middle East (there are a few different ways of dividing it, and she explains the way she is using on her post) or take place in one of those countries. There are no levels - you can just decide how many books you would like to read!

I have tentatively selected four novels to read. First, The Haj by Leon Uris (of course). I've also heard good things about Reading Lolita in Tehran, and every time I go to the University library it jumps off the shelf at me, so I will be picking that one up as well. I think I'm going to have to read Lolita first, though, just so I feel like I can relate to the author! On the challenge's main page, I saw a link for a book called Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye. I used to love her poems when I was younger, so I am looking forward to revisiting her work. I might have to read some of her poems again as well, because I can't remember them - just that I enjoyed them when I heard about them in school. Finally, I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali. Amazon suggested this book to me months ago, and I read a sample on my Kindle and was intrigued, but had forgotten about it after that. I am also intrigued by it because I watched a movie, Water, with my then-friend-now-husband about this time last year about child widows in India. It is certainly not the same, because the religions and regions are different, and Chuyia, the main character in Water, is a widow, not divorced, but she also was married at a very young age so I am interested to revisit this subject.

Looking forward to this challenge! I'll probably tackle The Haj first, and take it from there.