Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Registered by 
6of8
of Silver Spring, Maryland USA on 12/6/2010
This book is in a Controlled Release!
6of8 of Silver Spring, Maryland USA on 12/6/2010 This book is in a Controlled Release!
1 journaler for this copy...
This one has been on my list for quite a while, and it will be a good one for the 666 in 2011 Challenge.
This book has everything -- history, religion, culture, exquisitely beautiful descriptions of nature and locations and even interiors, philosophy, psychology, and literary criticism. I intend to look for anything else written by the author because I learned a great deal from this book.
I first heard about this book when the author was interviewed on NPR years ago and it sounded fascinating. But then it became a big deal and I lost sight of the picture her words had created in my mind and lost interest in the book. I bought it as a "should read" book, but put off reading it, in part because I have never read Lolita and never wanted to. I was sure that would interfere with my ability to understand or enjoy the book. It did not. In fact, it made me actually think about possibly reading Lolita at some point.
The juxtaposition of the various novels and authors with the intrusive depersonalization taking place under the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran was quite powerful. I enjoyed learning a great deal I didn't know about the Iraq-Iran war (okay, I knew it had happened and that Saddam Hussein was the leader of Iraq at the time -- nothing else) and about the public vs private lives of Iranian women. I enjoyed reading about the trial of The Great Gatsby and the discussions of Henry James and Daisy Miller (I almost want to reread Daisy Miller now). And I found the short chapter on Pride and Prejudice to be brilliant -- the one where she says the best way to understand the novel is to think of it as an Edwardian-era dance between Darcy and Elizabeth -- coming together, separating, other couples dancing through, occasionally switching partners, only to come back to the original dance partner. I mentioned that portion to a friend and she immediately understood and agreed that the metaphor was perfect.
I first heard about this book when the author was interviewed on NPR years ago and it sounded fascinating. But then it became a big deal and I lost sight of the picture her words had created in my mind and lost interest in the book. I bought it as a "should read" book, but put off reading it, in part because I have never read Lolita and never wanted to. I was sure that would interfere with my ability to understand or enjoy the book. It did not. In fact, it made me actually think about possibly reading Lolita at some point.
The juxtaposition of the various novels and authors with the intrusive depersonalization taking place under the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran was quite powerful. I enjoyed learning a great deal I didn't know about the Iraq-Iran war (okay, I knew it had happened and that Saddam Hussein was the leader of Iraq at the time -- nothing else) and about the public vs private lives of Iranian women. I enjoyed reading about the trial of The Great Gatsby and the discussions of Henry James and Daisy Miller (I almost want to reread Daisy Miller now). And I found the short chapter on Pride and Prejudice to be brilliant -- the one where she says the best way to understand the novel is to think of it as an Edwardian-era dance between Darcy and Elizabeth -- coming together, separating, other couples dancing through, occasionally switching partners, only to come back to the original dance partner. I mentioned that portion to a friend and she immediately understood and agreed that the metaphor was perfect.
Journal Entry 3 by 6of8 at -- Mail or by hand - rings, RABCK, meetings, District of Columbia USA on Saturday, November 5, 2016
6of8 at -- Mail or by hand - rings, RABCK, meetings, District of Columbia USA on Saturday, November 5, 2016
Released 7 yrs ago (11/4/2016 UTC) at -- Mail or by hand - rings, RABCK, meetings, District of Columbia USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This book was passed along to my friend who expressed an interestin reading it.
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Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.
