Reading Lolita in Tehran_ A Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi [188]
A generous grant from the Smith Richardson Foundation provided me with the opportunity to work on this book as well as pursue my projects at SAIS. My thanks especially to Marin Strmecki and Samantha Ravich for their belief in the rights of all individuals, no matter what part of the world they live in, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For quotations from Ayatollah Khomeini and facts about his life, I am grateful to Baqer Moin’s Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah (I.B. Tauris, 1999).
I would like to thank the staff at Random House for their support, enthusiasm and professionalism. I am grateful to Veronica Windholz for her scrupulous copyediting as well as her compassionate hatred of tyrannies, and to Robin Rolewicz, on whose smiles and generous and timely support, which went far beyond the call of duty, I came so much to rely. I had often wondered why some writers waxed lyrical over their editors until I started to work with Joy de Menil. Although very young, Joy decided to become this book’s fairy godmother. I appreciate her friendship, developed over the course of writing this book, her imaginative insights and suggestions, her meticulous editing and not least her own passion for and appreciation of great works of fiction.
And then there is always the inimitable, incorrigible Mr. R, wherever he may be at this moment and whatever story he may be inventing or participating in.
PHOTO: LILI IRAVANI
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AZAR NAFISI is a professor at Johns Hopkins University. She won a fellowship from Oxford and taught English literature at the University of Tehran, the Free Islamic University and the University of Allameh Tabatabai in Iran. She was expelled from the University of Tehran for refusing to wear the veil and left Iran for America in 1997. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New Republic, has appeared on countless radio and television programs, and is the author of Anti-Terra: A Critical Study of Vladimir Nabokov’s Novels. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children. Visit her website at http://dialogueproject.sais-jhu.edu.
PRAISE FOR
Reading Lolita in Tehran
“Resonant and deeply affecting . . . An eloquent brief on the transformative powers of fiction–on the refuge from ideology that art can offer to those living under tyranny, and art’s affirmative and subversive faith in the voice of the individual.”
—MICHIKO KAKUTANI, The New York Times
“[A] vividly braided memoir . . . Anguished and glorious.”
—CYNTHIA OZICK, The New Republic
“Certain books by our most talented essayists . . . carry inside their covers the heat and struggle of a life’s central choice being made and the price being paid, while the writer tells us about other matters, and leaves behind a path of sadness and sparkling loss. Reading Lolita in Tehran is such a book.”
—MONA SIMPSON, The Atlantic Monthly
“A poignant, searing tale about the secret ways Iranian women defy the regime. . . . [Nafisi] makes you want to rush back to all these books to experience the hidden aspects she’s elucidated.”
—Salon
“A quietly magnificent book . . . [Nafisi’s] passion is irresistible.”
—LA Weekly
“Azar Nafisi’s memoir makes a good case for reading the classics of Western literature no matter where you are. . . . [Her] perspective on her students’ plight, the ongoing struggle of Iranian citizens, and her country’s violent transformation into an Islamic state will provide valuable insights to anyone interested in current international events.”
—HEATHER HEWETT,