Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, Azar Nafisi

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books was written by Azar Nafisi, who was the daughter of a former charismatic mayor of pre-revolutionary Tehran. Her mother had won a seat in the Parliament in 1963. The central characters of this book are seven young women, who came to be called "children of revolution" who used to secretly gather in her house every Thursday morning for two years in the mid-1990s and talk about forbidden Western classics such as Lolita, Great Gatsby, Daisy Miller, Pride and Prejudice.

The book is a venture into the hearts and secrets shared with each other. The wildest one of the group is a divorcee who paints her nails red and keeps them gloved because applying any kind of makeup in the Islamic regime is a punishable offence. In spite of getting beaten by her third husband and being called "used" she cannot bring herself to leave him as she has a small daughter and the Islamic courts grant child custody only to husbands. Two of the girls are happily married. Another girl Sanaz, an attractive girl from a good family, who has been betrothed since childhood is ultimately jilted by the guy once he moves out of the environment and gets settled in England because he decides he would not like to share his life with a conservative traditional Muslim girl.

There are annoying and emotive anecdotes of the girls enjoying on a vacation and getting arrested for showing too much of Western attitude. They also had to go through two virginity tests. Another girl of the group decides to stay back in the Islamic country and pursue a career in publishing and not to marry. Yet another one is, on the other hand, undecided whether to marry and emigrate or stay back.

The book is replete with incidents of Nafisi rebelling against the oppressive social norms: her resigning from the university on account of refusing to wear a veil, her romantic association with a character she calls "my magician," her forming a secret association and reading western classics and lots more.

This book is an excellent Mother's Day gift. The strongly portrayed women characters have the power and passion in them to ignite a fire in every woman's heart to rise against injustice and fight for their rights. This book cerebrates the liberating power of women and exalts in feminine aura.