Book Review - Reading Lolita in Tehran
My book club met this week to discuss our latest selection, Reading Lolita in Tehran - A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi. The author was a Professor of English Literature at the University of Tehran and her story covers the time from before the overthrow of the Shah, through Khomeini's reign and a short period after his death. She tried to teach on and off during that time and actually spent the last two years hosting a reading group of young women students in her home to discuss the classics. The classics were forbidden reading at the time. She eventually couldn't take living in Iran with the restrictions of the religious fanatics in charge and emigrated to the United States with her family.
We were mixed in our options on the book. The writing style was a bit awkward in places. Nafisi told her story as it related to several literature classics. We felt the assumption was that the reader was already intimately familiar with the books so some of the points made were a bit obscure. We're a pretty well read group but she quoted many books by Nabakov, Henry James, Jane Austen and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think between us all, we may have read 3 of them.
One point did resonate greatly with us, however. She related that the legal age to be married for women in her Grandmother's day was 9, changed to 13 then 18. Within five years of the Khomeini reign, the age was back to 9. The ease with which women's rights (and to be fair, men's rights in the regime were restricted, too) were revoked reminded one of our group members of the possible erosion of our rights today.
There's a legitimate chance that Roe v Wade will be a thing of the past and abortion again illegal. When the President publicly makes a speech praising the attendees at a Right to Life demonstration and that same President may be appointing a Supreme Court Justice or two, it's not unreasonable to fear the right to choose will be taken away.
Locally, there's a bill introduced here in Arizona that would allow Pharmacists to refuse to fill birth control presciptions on moral grounds. Yet, Medicare may cover the cost of Viagra. Ironic, ain't it?
Our feelings of inadequacy in Classics knowledge did inspire us to devote this year's club selections to the classics. First up is Pride and Prejudice by Austen. I'm sure I won't be able to get the picture of Colin Firth out of my head as I read about Lizzie and Mr. Darcy but then why would I want to? He's a hottie.
We were mixed in our options on the book. The writing style was a bit awkward in places. Nafisi told her story as it related to several literature classics. We felt the assumption was that the reader was already intimately familiar with the books so some of the points made were a bit obscure. We're a pretty well read group but she quoted many books by Nabakov, Henry James, Jane Austen and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think between us all, we may have read 3 of them.
One point did resonate greatly with us, however. She related that the legal age to be married for women in her Grandmother's day was 9, changed to 13 then 18. Within five years of the Khomeini reign, the age was back to 9. The ease with which women's rights (and to be fair, men's rights in the regime were restricted, too) were revoked reminded one of our group members of the possible erosion of our rights today.
There's a legitimate chance that Roe v Wade will be a thing of the past and abortion again illegal. When the President publicly makes a speech praising the attendees at a Right to Life demonstration and that same President may be appointing a Supreme Court Justice or two, it's not unreasonable to fear the right to choose will be taken away.
Locally, there's a bill introduced here in Arizona that would allow Pharmacists to refuse to fill birth control presciptions on moral grounds. Yet, Medicare may cover the cost of Viagra. Ironic, ain't it?
Our feelings of inadequacy in Classics knowledge did inspire us to devote this year's club selections to the classics. First up is Pride and Prejudice by Austen. I'm sure I won't be able to get the picture of Colin Firth out of my head as I read about Lizzie and Mr. Darcy but then why would I want to? He's a hottie.
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