A very unusual book. Some of the facts of life for the narrator/author were hard to read. Such arbitrarily imposed changes, such wild swings in what is allowed or not allowed; the contrast between life outside and inside Iran. I found that aspect of the book moving and would recommend the first hundred pages or so -- just for that aspect of the book. I have read many of the books they discussed (except Nabokov) but still grew impatient with the constant literary commentary. Clever idea as our frame to view the "students" and their lives, but it felt overused, The allegory and parallels I think Nafisi was trying to make us see (via the commentary on the books) just became too much work and too much repetition.

I wanted to like this book more. However, I felt almost like I was reading a book report...and since I'd never read any of the books the group was looking at, I had a hard time following along.

this book wasn't what I was expecting, but it was will very good. i thought it would be more about the stories and lives of the women in the reading group, but instead it is much more about how the books were being interpreted and what the novels came to symbolize to these women. its a book about the importance of literature... i enjoyed it!

I knew nothing about Iranian history when I started this book. Sometimes I read with my computer close at hand so I could google things as I went. Normally this would detract from my reading experience, but I loved the main character so much that I was happy to do it, if only to understand her world a bit better.

In the repressive atmosphere of Tehran under strict Islamic rule, author Nafisi -- a former university professor -- secretly gathers a group of women to discuss works of literature. The women shed their veils when they meet, and eventually shed their shyness as well. Despite stellar reviews, this book didn''t really move me. I think the fact that I haven''t recently read many of the books the women discussed affected my response to READING LOLITA, as well as my general dislike for literary analysis.