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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
I give this book a solid 2 because i feel that biographies (especially autobiographies) should make you exited about your life story and make you want to tell it. And this book just didnt make me feel any passion about her life nor mine. Nafisi writes very eloquently and is very researched and specific about the revolution and politics that were happening in Tehran, i just didn't get those insights and gems that i usually find when someone opens up and shares their life. Oh well, i still love her other books
Several years ago, I read an article in De Volkskrant about this book, where it was praised by the reviewer. I think I expected something a little different, but it was interesting anyway. The author talks about growing up in pre-Khomeini Iran and especially about her relationship with her parents. It was very interesting to read a personal history of someone in such a different culture and country, living during revolutionary times, but also seeing one person's way of looking at that world. I hardly ever read non-fiction, and I've never read memoirs, but this was a nice first.
Impressive woman and an impressive family, plus interesting to hear her memoirs as related to Iranian history. However it was a little choppy and it seemed like the real main character was her mother. still, it was worth the read.
This book isn't about Iranian politics. It's about an Iranian daughter and her family. This isn't a bad thing. Nafisi is a fasinating woman, and this book, written in chronological sequence, is in many ways a mediation on family which makes it strangely compelling. It is as if you are watching Nafisi walk back thorough her memories.
Yet despite its very personal feel, the book also is a good way to show the differences and similarities of culture. Nafisi family is warped but in much the same way that many American families are warped. Showing that while culture might affect us differently, some things are human, not cultural.
Of course, some things are cultural, like when Nafisi is forced to veil when she goes to work. And this is important too, because people are amazingly alike while being amazingly different.
Yet despite its very personal feel, the book also is a good way to show the differences and similarities of culture. Nafisi family is warped but in much the same way that many American families are warped. Showing that while culture might affect us differently, some things are human, not cultural.
Of course, some things are cultural, like when Nafisi is forced to veil when she goes to work. And this is important too, because people are amazingly alike while being amazingly different.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Autobiografia della Nafisi, famosa per Leggere Lolita a Teheran, in realtà narrazione biografica di una famiglia e un'epoca, viziata dai controversi rapporti tra il padre e la madre.
Avrebbe potuto essere molto interessante dato il momento in cui si svolge la parte centrale - vale a dire la rivoluzione islamica - date le persone coinvoltee - il padre fu sindcaco di Teheran e la madre una delle prime donne parlamentari sotto lo Shah - invece è spesso confusa, piena di fatti ininfluenti e disarticolati, che non permettono di capire che cosa abbia realmente influenzato la crescita politica e intellettuale dell'autrice.
Avrebbe potuto essere molto interessante dato il momento in cui si svolge la parte centrale - vale a dire la rivoluzione islamica - date le persone coinvoltee - il padre fu sindcaco di Teheran e la madre una delle prime donne parlamentari sotto lo Shah - invece è spesso confusa, piena di fatti ininfluenti e disarticolati, che non permettono di capire che cosa abbia realmente influenzato la crescita politica e intellettuale dell'autrice.
I could not get past chapter three, where she discusses how her mother tortured her at four years old with where she was allowed to located her bed! Yep...we literally start at birth.... I thought there would be more about Iranian culture like Reading Lolita in Tehran, but we just get stuck in complaints about her family, which have a touch of Iran, but not worth sifting through the personal drama for. But I did love Reading Lolita in Tehran.... highly recommend that one!
Wonderful! I'm addicted to this author's books.
I don't have much to say about this one. Like the rest of my book club, I agree that it seems more like a memoir on behalf of the author's parents rather than her own. It got very dull in parts, and I almost put it down for good around the time of her father's imprisonment; there are just too many politicians' and relatives' names being dropped to keep track of. I stuck with it though, and don't feel like I got much out of it in the end. Nothing enlightening, kind of repetitive.
11/27- This is DRY stuff. I am STRUGGLING to get through it!
11/30- I finally finished it. It was a very slow-moving and dry account of some parts of Nafisi's history. Although she recounted many personal details, it was mostly done with such emotional distance that it was made dry. Likewise, although she recounted many historical and political details, they were told at such close range as to make the reader unable to really grasp the larger picture. The last couple of chapters, however, were beautifully done, and intimate and moving.
11/30- I finally finished it. It was a very slow-moving and dry account of some parts of Nafisi's history. Although she recounted many personal details, it was mostly done with such emotional distance that it was made dry. Likewise, although she recounted many historical and political details, they were told at such close range as to make the reader unable to really grasp the larger picture. The last couple of chapters, however, were beautifully done, and intimate and moving.