Azar Nafisi was a professor of English literature at Tehran University during the Iranian Revolution. She, along with many other Iranians, hoped for a better future after the fall of the Shah. Instead, Ayatollah Khomeini's government imposed its theocratic values into all aspects of private life. In 1980, Nafisi was fired from Tehran University for refusing to wear a veil in her classroom. She taught for several years at a different university before resigning to give private lessons, consisting of weekly gatherings in her living room during which she and seven female students discussed Western literature. Nafisi emigrated to the United States in 1997.
In Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (2003), Nafisi blends her experiences and the plight of Iranian women with the literary works read by her book club. Part one, "Lolita," finds Nafisi and her students discussing Lolita, Invitation to a Beheading, and One Thousand and One Nights while Nafisi ponders the meaning of oppression. "Gatsby," "James" and "Austen" follow in non-chronological order, each part with its own themes and related literary works. This mesmerizing mix of literary criticism, memoir, history and the personal lives of embattled women make Reading Lolita in Tehran (Random House, $18, 9780812979305) a must for any Women's History Month reading list. --Tobias Mutter
