E-Mail This Article to a Friend Reading in the shadow of tyranny (continued)

Q: How did you choose which books to read with your private class in Tehran?

A: I wanted to discuss with them this idea of how books relate to our lives and to the reality we live in — in an indirect way, not that they should be replicas or formulas for our reality. And I also wanted to choose books that were, on purpose, not obviously moralistic or political, and show them how when they are true to themselves, they can become interesting. And the third thing was that because I was teaching a group of girls, I wanted to also emphasize books that were transgressive in a way, especially in terms of the female protagonist. I know that some people might think that Austen is not transgressive, but I definitely do. So most of these books have at their centers a character that says no to the norms around her, and the conflict of the plot is around that issue. That was basically how I chose, but you know, it’s so difficult! So many books!

Q: Do you go back now and re-read the books you read with your private class in Tehran?

A: Oh yes.

Q: Does it feel different reading them here?

A: Of course Austen I just read all the time; it’s a ritual. And many of these books of course I’m teaching here now. It was interesting, how my American students reacted. For example, my American students were more tuned in to the way women are portrayed in these novels, in a more critical manner. And a lot of them had read these books in high school. A lot of them mentioned that re-reading them within this new context made them re-think it. But the readings themselves keep bringing new issues. I don’t know if it’s because I’m living here or because the books themselves yield hidden parts that I hadn’t thought about. More than ever before we need to read books that are great in terms of works of imagination. And I think that one thing that tuned me in was that point Saul Bellow kept making about sufferings of freedom, ordeals of freedom. And these books constantly address the ordeals of freedom. The choices we make, how we need to be constantly awake and sensitized. And the dreams we follow, and how following a dream is more important than reaching it, because once you reach it, like Gatsby, it might be completely tainted. This is a good time in the West to re-celebrate these works.

Q: Have your former students in Tehran read your book?

A: Many of them have. Of course my private class, the ones that I have been in touch with; two of them I haven’t heard from in a while. But the rest I have been in touch with have all read it. I made a point of sending the book to them.

Q: What did they think of it?

A: Well, the ones that have read it, they say they like it. I was joking with Yassi, actually, that she should be writing a book called The Real Story Behind Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: Boy, I’m reading so many different things right now. Mostly fiction. I just finished reaching Colm Tóibín’s The Master on James, which was such a fine book. It’s a beautiful book. I also finished re-reading Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin, which I’m trying to choose for my next term. I was sent this wonderful book, which is called The Life of Poetry, by Muriel Rukeyser. God, I can’t believe I’m reading all of these books.

Q: Do you ever have a day without reading or writing?

A: It’s really seldom. As a writer I have to train myself to just do a bit of writing anyway. But as a reader, I don’t think I can get away with it. I mean, really every night, I have to read before I go to sleep. One of the good things when I travel is I do that without any guilt. And I read a lot of different things. I love mysteries, so I love a lot of mystery books when I get a chance. And then novels. But reading this one about the life of poetry made me want to go back to poetry. Oh, one best book that I’m reading is Mordecai Richler’s Barney’s Version. Oh, that book is so funny and poignant. It’s so much fun.

Q: What are you writing now?

A: Apart from writings here and there, I’m sort of trying to now focus on my other book, the next book. In general, it will be about the life of three generations of women, and the topic of loss, and how you retrieve what you lose through the act of writing. That idea came to me when I was finishing this book. I just hope I’ll be able to have some time to just work on it without worry.

Azar Nafisi reads from Reading Lolita in Tehran at the Brattle Theatre, on August 4, at 7 p.m. Call (617) 354-5201. Audi and Condé Nast will make a donation on Nafisi’s behalf to the Boston Public Library. Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com