Although I found this book interesting this was despite the writing style. The book for some reason is split into four sections; Lolita, Gatsby, James and Austen, but the section titles are only vaguely connected to the content. The first section, Lolita describes the reading group Nafisi established after she stopped teaching at university and I found it very difficult to read, in fact so difficult I almost gave up on the book. However the next three sections are easier because they are mostly chronological from the start of the revolution. It is these sections that I found the most interesting because it describes how the lives of people, especially women, changed from the revolution to the current times.
To be honest I think I would have preferred this book if it hadn’t included the reference to literature, which at times felt forced and at times like an English literature lecture. However, it has opened my eyes to the possibility of reading Nabokov, maybe not Lolita (although I am now less prejudiced against that book than previously) but particularly An invitation to a beheading which sounds like an intriguing book.
February 2006
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The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud – book review
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