Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Start discussion here for Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.

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We all have dreams—things we fantasize about doing and generally never get around to. This is the story of Azar Nafisi's dream and of the nightmare that made it come true.

For two years before she left Iran in 1997, Nafisi gathered seven young women at her house every Thursday morning to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. They were all former students whom she had taught at university. Some came from conservative and religious families, others were progressive and secular; several had spent time in jail. They were shy and uncomfortable at first, unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, but soon they began to open up and to speak more freely, not only about the novels they were reading but also about themselves, their dreams and disappointments. Their stories intertwined with those they were reading—Pride and Prejudice, Washington Square, Daisy Miller and Lolita—their Lolita, as they imagined her in Tehran.

Nafisi's account flashes back to the early days of the revolution, when she first started teaching at the University of Tehran amid the swirl of protests and demonstrations. In those frenetic days, the students took control of the university, expelled faculty members and purged the curriculum. When a radical Islamist in Nafisi's class questioned her decision to teach The Great Gatsby, which he saw as an immoral work that preached falsehoods of "the Great Satan," she decided to let him put Gatsby on trial and stood as the sole witness for the defense.

Azar Nafisi's luminous tale offers a fascinating portrait of the Iran-Iraq war viewed from Tehran and gives us a rare glimpse, from the inside, of women's lives in revolutionary Iran. It is a work of great passion and poetic beauty, written with a startlingly original voice.

1. On her first day teaching at the University of Tehran, Azar Nafisi began class with the questions, "What should fiction accomplish? Why should anyone read at all?" What are your own answers? How does fiction force us to question what we often take for granted?

2. Yassi adores playing with words, particularly with Nabokov's fanciful linguistic creation upsilamba (18). What does the word upsilamba mean to you?

3. In what ways had Ayatollah Khomeini "turned himself into a myth" for the people of Iran (246)? Also, discuss the recurrent theme of complicity in the book: that the Ayatollah, the stern philosopher-king, "did to us what we allowed him to do" (28).

4. Compare attitudes toward the veil held by men, women and the government in the Islamic Republic of Iran. How was Nafisi's grandmother's choice to wear the chador marred by the political significance it had gained? (192) Also, describe Mahshid's conflicted feelings as a Muslim who already observed the veil but who nevertheless objected to its political enforcement.

5. In discussing the frame story of A Thousand and One Nights, Nafisi mentions three types of women who fell victim to the king's "unreasonable rule" (19). How relevant are the actions and decisions of these fictional women to the lives of the women in Nafisi's private class?

6. Explain what Nafisi means when she calls herself and her beliefs increasingly "irrelevant" in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Compare her way of dealing with her irrelevance to her magician's self-imposed exile. What do people who "lose their place in the world" do to survive, both physically and creatively?

7. During the Gatsby trial Zarrin charges Mr. Nyazi with the inability to "distinguish fiction from reality" (128). How does Mr. Nyazi's conflation of the fictional and the real relate to theme of the blind censor? Describe similar instances within a democracy like the United States when art was censored for its "dangerous" impact upon society.

8. Nafisi writes: "It was not until I had reached home that I realized the true meaning of exile" (145). How do her conceptions of home conflict with those of her husband, Bijan, who is reluctant to leave Tehran? Also, compare Mahshid's feeling that she "owes" something to Tehran and belongs there to Mitra and Nassrin's desires for freedom and escape. Discuss how the changing and often discordant influences of memory, family, safety, freedom, opportunity and duty define our sense of home and belonging.

9. Fanatics like Mr. Ghomi, Mr. Nyazi and Mr. Bahri consistently surprised Azar by displaying absolute hatred for Western literature — a reaction she describes as a "venom uncalled for in relation to works of fiction." (195) What are their motivations? Do you, like Nafisi, think that people like Mr. Ghomi attack because they are afraid of what they don't understand? Why is ambiguity such a dangerous weapon to them?

10. The confiscation of one's life by another is the root of Humbert's sin against Lolita. How did Khomeini become Iran's solipsizer? Discuss how Sanaz, Nassrin, Azin and the rest of the girls are part of a "generation with no past." (76)

11. Nafisi teaches that the novel is a sensual experience of another world which appeals to the reader's capacity for compassion. Do you agree that "empathy is at the heart of the novel"? How has this book affected your understanding of the impact of the novel?

I finished the book last night. I can't answer all the discussion questions right now, but I just wanted to make a few comments. I enjoyed the book, although the narrative was sometimes hard to follow. I do wish though that I had read all the books she discussed before reading this one! Several were already on my TBR shelf, but I think I would've had a much greater understanding of the sections relating to these works of literature if I had read them myself, although the author does go into enough detail that the reader can understand her point without having read the works.

Christine wrote: "I finished the book last night. I can't answer all the discussion questions right now, but I just wanted to make a few comments. I enjoyed the book, although the narrative was sometimes hard to f..."

Reading this book really expanded by TBR pile. Most of the book she discussed I haven't read yet, but want to now that I have read this book.

Diane wrote: "Christine wrote: "I finished the book last night. I can't answer all the discussion questions right now, but I just wanted to make a few comments. I enjoyed the book, although the narrative was s..."

I felt the same way! I really want to dig into some classics now.

I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it- just wish that I had read all the books she talks about!

Every time I read/think about The Handmaid's Tale I also think of this one. Atwood's book was inspired by events in Iran in the 80s, but it could have easily been inspired by the events/policy changes/life Nafisi discusses.

Kristina Marie wrote: "I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it- just wish that I had read all the books she talks about!

Every time I read/think about The Handmaid's Tale I also think of this one. Atwood's bo..."

I just reread The Handmaid's Tale a few weeks ago, and the comparison occurred to me as well after I was done reading this book. Was Atwood really inspired to write her novel by events in Iran? I didn't know that.

Christine wrote: "Kristina Marie wrote: "I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it- just wish that I had read all the books she talks about!

Every time I read/think about The Handmaid's Tale I also think of..."

Wow, I didn't know that either.

I started to read this book on a whim. Halfway through. What a wonderful coincidence. Looking forward to group discussion.

I'm 10% in and am really enjoying it so far but I think I'm going to table it for now until I read some of the cited books. Right now, it's just a giant spoiler alert for me.

Ashley wrote: "I'm 10% in and am really enjoying it so far but I think I'm going to table it for now until I read some of the cited books. Right now, it's just a giant spoiler alert for me."

I felt the same way when I was reading the first section on Lolita! I skimmed the part about the book and focused more on her story with her students.

RitaSkeeter wrote: "Ashley wrote: "I'm 10% in and am really enjoying it so far but I think I'm going to table it for now until I read some of the cited books. Right now, it's just a giant spoiler alert for me."

Hi, j..."

I think the major ones are Lolita, The Great Gatsby, Daisy Miller, and Pride and Prejudice.

I want to start reading it again. I listened to the audiobook some. The narrator's voice really didn't keep my interest in the story.

Ritaskeeter, It's been time since I read this, but I'm puzzled by the author being called "paternalistic". Could you expand on this for me?

Christine wrote: "I finished the book last night. I can't answer all the discussion questions right now, but I just wanted to make a few comments. I enjoyed the book, although the narrative was sometimes hard to f..."

Christine, I like your point about being able to follow because of the detail given--even if you haven't read the books mentioned. This was what I liked most about this book.