READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN - A MEMOIR IN BOOKS

In 1995, Azar Nafisi resigned from the faculty of a Tehran University because of the repressive "morality guard" policies of the Iranian authorities. Soon thereafter, she invited seven of her best female students to attend a secret weekly seminar on Western literature. In 'Reading Lolita in Tehran', she offers a moving account of these clandestine classes and vivid portraits of the brave young women who attended them. A subtle, gifted writer, Nafisi describes the powerful effect that seemingly alien works like The Great Gatsby had on her reading group.