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rayrayvolver's review against another edition
5.0
Reading this again for book club and loving it EVEN more than the first time.
a56jml's review against another edition
4.0
Women's rights, history, Iran and literature, this book combines so many of my interests it would be hard for me not to love it! It was not a light read but definitely worth the time. I love how she entangled great novels with Iranian history to show its impact on the women in the novel. Gave great insight into how women felt living through the revolution and the Iraq/Iran war and the impact on their lives there after.
taoeric9's review against another edition
5.0
Why do we read fiction, and how does it shape the way we see the world around us and our own selves? I've been thinking about these questions ever since reading the first pages of this book, and Nafisi brings them to life, weaving together personal and political strands of thought. From the first page, she plays with the contradiction that strikes me as the central question of the memoir. Interpreting reality through fiction (or through one's own imaginative power) is at once both clarifying and imposing. Clarifying because fiction helps us imagine things differently, see possible worlds in stark contrast to our everyday lives, explore other points of view, and capture in images and scenes feelings that take a lifetime to describe, just as the girls in Nafisi's Henry James class find an inexpressible courage to admire in Daisy Miller; imposing because reality so often subverts our comparisons and expectations, and real people so often defy our images of them, just as Dolores rebels against Humbert's own totalitarian reimaginings of her in Nabokov's Lolita by establishing her own wants, feelings, and identity. If nothing else, it's a book that makes you want to read, think, write, and most importantly, talk with friends, new and old.
sarahetc's review against another edition
2.0
I love reading book, talking about books, and talking about reading books. And this was still amazingly boring.
julinapril's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Ich mochte den Schreibstil nicht, weil viele Formulierungen sich widersprechen und es keinen richtigen „Fluss“ der Sprache gibt. Deshalb habe ich bis S. 150 überlegt, abzubrechen. ABER als ich dann einmal akzeptiert hatte, dass es einfach ein Stream of Consciousness ohne roten Faden ist, hat es einen gewissen Sog für mich entwickelt. Ich kann die meisten Figuren zwar bis jetzt nicht auseinanderhalten, aber die Verflechtung von Biografie, politischem Essay und Literaturanalyse fand ich sehr spannend. Am Ende war es sogar eine Art Highlight. Auf jeden Fall lesenswert. Man muss sich aber ein bisschen durchbeißen.
chris_dech's review against another edition
5.0
Powerfully written, intimate, and a definite champion of freedom of expression, Nafisi crafts a beautiful story of her life in revolutionary Iran.
Nafisi writes a clear and resounding damnation of fundamentalism, extremism, and binary thinking, and challenges the reader to consider the ways in which they may face similar experiences. But, perhaps above all, Nafisi reminds us that reading fiction, practising nuanced thinking and open-mindedness, and being able to express ourselves freely, that's the good life. That we should make small acts of rebellion, read and do things that challenge us, is what makes for an even better one.
Nafisi writes a clear and resounding damnation of fundamentalism, extremism, and binary thinking, and challenges the reader to consider the ways in which they may face similar experiences. But, perhaps above all, Nafisi reminds us that reading fiction, practising nuanced thinking and open-mindedness, and being able to express ourselves freely, that's the good life. That we should make small acts of rebellion, read and do things that challenge us, is what makes for an even better one.
careycarpenter's review against another edition
2.0
So I stopped reading this book about 50 pages in. Usually I give a book that I don’t finish one star but I chose two because I think the idea of writing about life in Tehran for women wanting to study literature is an interesting one. I think the story arc needs some serious work. I was just bored and didn’t enjoy reading the story and didn’t get much emotionally or mentally. I did learn a little about what it’s like to live in Iran at that time. It’s just I have so many other books on my shelf that I don’t want to force myself through the next 300 pages of this one. So moving on.
tonyv379's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
4.0
ifuseeksteven's review against another edition
5.0
Necessario. Da leggere soprattutto in tempi come i nostri per capire a quali tragiche conseguenze porta la morte del libero pensiero.