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.
