Cada jueves por la mañana a lo largo de dos años, Azar Nafisi, una valiente y brillante profesora iraní, reúne clandestinamente en el salón de su casa a siete de sus alumnas más aventajadas a fin de leer libros prohibidos: obras de Jane Austen, Henry James, Scott Fitzgerald y, por supuesto, de Vladimir Nabokov, el autor de Lolita. Mientras las jóvenes poco a poco se expresan a través de los libros, se dan cuenta de como sus propias vidas se van transformando y mezclando con la trama de las obras a las que se entregan.
Azar Nafisi Libros
Azar Nafisi utiliza la literatura como un lente para explorar las complejidades de la vida, particularmente en el contexto de Irán. Su obra profundiza en el poder de la narración y su impacto en las percepciones individuales y colectivas de la realidad. A través de su escritura, a menudo reflexiona sobre la búsqueda de la libertad intelectual y la expresión artística frente a las restricciones sociales. Nafisi invita a los lectores a descubrir la profunda conexión entre la literatura y la experiencia personal.







Cosas que he callado, una memoria personal en la que Azar compone un catártico retrato de una familia excepcional y, a la vez, universal. Empezando por su difícil infancia, su primer matrimonio fallido, sus encontronazos con la injusticia y el despertar de su activismo político en la República Islámica de Irán, analiza los acontecimientos y las personalidades que la llevaron a ser una mujer valiente, comprometida e insubordinada. Desde su domicilio estadounidense, Azar reflexiona sobre el poder de los silencios y chantajes sobre los que se sustentan todas las dictaduras y algunas familias, como el más perfecto de los sistemas totalitarios.
Read Dangerously
- 256 páginas
- 9 horas de lectura
The New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with a guide to the power of literature in turbulent times, arming readers with a resistance reading list, ranging from James Baldwin to Zora Neale Hurston to Margaret Atwood.What is the role of literature in an era when the president wages war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics?In this galvanizing guide to resistance literature, Nafisi seeks to answer these questions. Drawing on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, her life as an immigrant in the United States, and her role as literature professor in both countries, she crafts an argument for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so.Structured as a series of letters to her father, Baba, who taught her as a child about how literature can rescue us in times of trauma, Nafisi explores the most probing questions of our time through the works of Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood, and more.
Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the girls in Azar Nafisi's living room risked removing their veils and immersed themselves in the worlds of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. In this extraordinary memoir, their stories become intertwined with the ones they are reading. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration of the liberating power of literature.
The Republic of Imagination
- 352 páginas
- 13 horas de lectura
From the author of the bestselling memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran comes a powerful and passionate case for the vital role of fiction today. Ten years ago, Azar Nafisi electrified readers with her million-copy bestseller, Reading Lolita in Tehran, which told the story of how, against the backdrop of morality squads and executions, she taught The Great Gatsby and other classics to her eager students in Iran. In this exhilarating follow-up, Nafisi has written the book her fans have been waiting for: an impassioned, beguiling and utterly original tribute to the vital importance of fiction in a democratic society. Taking her cue from a challenge thrown to her at a reading, she energetically responds to those who say fiction has nothing to teach us today. Blending memoir and polemic with close readings of her favourite novels, she invites us to join her as citizens of her 'Republic of Imagination', a country where the villains are conformity, and orthodoxy and the only passport to entry is a free mind and a willingness to dream.
Things I've been silent about
- 368 páginas
- 13 horas de lectura
"Absorbing . . . a testament to the ways in which narrative truth-telling—from the greatest works of literature to the most intimate family stories—sustains and strengthens us.”—O: The Oprah Magazine In this stunning personal story of growing up in Iran, Azar Nafisi shares her memories of living in thrall to a powerful and complex mother against the backdrop of a country’s political revolution. A girl’s pain over family secrets, a young woman’s discovery of the power of sensuality in literature, the price a family pays for freedom in a country beset by upheaval—these and other threads are woven together in this beautiful memoir as a gifted storyteller once again transforms the way we see the world and “reminds us of why we read in the first place” (Newsday). Praise for Things I've Been Silent About “Deeply felt . . . an affecting account of a family’s struggle.”—New York Times “A gifted storyteller with a mastery of Western literature, Nafisi knows how to use language both to settle scores and to seduce.”—New York Times Book Review “An immensely rewarding and beautifully written act of courage, by turns amusing, tender and obsessively dogged.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A lyrical, often wrenching memoir.”—People
My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes
Uncensored Iranian Voices
- 132 páginas
- 5 horas de lectura
In the first anthology of its kind, Lila Azam Zanganeh argues that although Iran looms large in the American imagination, it is grossly misunderstood-seen either as the third pillar of Bush's infamous "axis of evil" or as a nation teeming with youths clamoring for revolution.This collection showcases the real scope and complexity of Iran through the work of a stellar group of contributors-including Azar Nafisi and with original art by Marjane Satrapi. Their collective goal is to counter the many existing cultural and political clichés about Iran. Some of the pieces concern feminism, sexuality, or eroticism under the Islamic Republic; others are unorthodox political testimonies or about race and religion. Almost all these contributors have broken artistic and cultural taboos in their work.Journalist Reza Aslan, author of No God But God, explains why Iran is not a theocracy but, rather, a "mullahcracy." Mehrangiz Kar, a lawyer and human rights activist who was jailed in Iran and is currently a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, argues that the Iranian Revolution actually engendered the birth of feminism in Iran. Journalist Azadeh Moaveni reveals the underground parties and sex culture in Tehran, while Gelareh Asayesh, author of Saffron Sky, writes poignantly on why Iranians are not considered white in America, even though they think they are. Poet and writer Naghmeh Zarbafian expounds on the surreal experience of reading censored books in Iran, while Roya Hakakian, author of Journey from the Land of A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran, recalls the happy days of Iranian Jews. With a sharp, incisive introduction by Lila Azam Zanganeh, this diverse collection will alter what you thought you knew about Iran." My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes aims to corrode fixed ideas and turns cultural and political clichés on their heads . . . Iranians themselves live in a complex and schizophrenic reality, at a surreal crossroads between political Islam and satellite television, massive national oil revenues, and searing social inequalities."--From the Introduction by Lila Azam ZanganehContributors Azar Nafisi, author of the best-selling Reading Lolita in Tehran , Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis , Shirin Neshat, internationally acclaimed visual artist, Abbas Kiarostami, award-winning filmmaker of Taste of Cherry , Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar nominee for House of Sand and Fog , Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad
The great national epic of Persia is presented in the most complete English-language edition and definitive translation by Dick Davis, available in a deluxe edition by Penguin Classics. The stories of the Shahnameh have deeply influenced cultures wherever Persian influence has spread, evident in works like The Kite Runner and the poetry of Rumi and Hafez. Composed by Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, this monumental narrative recounts the pre-Islamic history of Iran, from the mythic creation to the Arab invasion of the seventh century. Its grandeur and psychological depth are remarkable, featuring classic tales such as the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab. Dick Davis, described as “our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (Washington Post), offers a comprehensive translation that beautifully combines prose and verse, allowing the poetry to resonate while providing modern readers with clear explanations. For over seventy years, Penguin has led in publishing classic literature in English, offering more than 1,700 titles that form a global bookshelf of history's best works. Readers rely on this series for authoritative texts, enhanced by introductions and notes from distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, along with up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Ein kämpferischer Appell für Literatur als Mittel des Widerstands und Empowerment: New-York-Times-Bestsellerautorin Azar Nafisi (»Lolita lesen in Teheran«) mit einem aufrüttelnden Text über die Macht der Bücher. In Form von Briefen an ihren verstorbenen Vater (früherer Bürgermeister von Teheran und politischer Gefangener des Schah-Regimes), der ihr in ihrer Kindheit die Augen dafür öffnete, wie Literatur uns in Zeiten der Krise retten kann, stellt Nafisi die brennenden Fragen unserer Zeit – mit ihrer Lektüreliste bewaffnet Nafisi die Leser*Innen für den Widerstand. Sie greift dabei auf ihre persönlichen Erfahrungen als Frau, als Leser*in und Lehrende in Teheran zurück, die von der Universität verwiesen wurde, als sie sich weigerte, den Schleier zu tragen, und schließlich in die USA emigrierte, wo sie als Professorin Literatur unterrichtete. Nafisi ist überzeugt: Für das Überleben der Demokratie weltweit ist das Lesen unabdingbar. Ob James Baldwin oder Margret Atwood, ob Platon oder Salman Rushdie, Lektüre ist immer ein Weg in Richtung Freiheit: persönlich und politisch.
Nach dem weltweiten Erfolg von „Lolita lesen in Teheran“ erzählt Azar Nafisi nun die bewegende Geschichte ihrer zerrissenen Familie. Die junge Azar ist gefangen zwischen ihrer eindrucksvollen, aber komplizierten Mutter und ihrem liebevollen, literaturbegeisterten Vater. Diese Familiensaga entfaltet sich vor dem Hintergrund der Unruhen im Iran während der Schah-Zeit. Azar reflektiert über ihre Kindheit in Teheran, geprägt von der schwierigen Beziehung zur Mutter, die wenig Liebe zeigt, und dem Vater, der ihr die Leidenschaft für Literatur vermittelt und sie gegen die Mutter unterstützt. Die Erzählung umfasst ihre Schul- und Studienjahre im Westen, die Zeit ohne ihren inhaftierten Vater, ihre erste hastige Ehe mit einem Mann, den sie nicht liebt, und ihre Rückkehr in den Iran nach der Islamischen Revolution, wo sie ihre akademische Laufbahn beginnt. Auch ihre zweite Ehe und die schlussendliche Auswanderung in die USA sind Teil ihrer Geschichte. „Die schönen Lügen meiner Mutter“ bietet persönliche Einblicke in eine Kindheit, die von einem autoritären Regime geprägt ist, und beleuchtet die kleinen und großen Geheimnisse einer Familie.



