Speed Reads

Amid the war and the heightened tensions in West Asia, it is a good time to update ourselves about Iran. Alongside political histories, these books offer a far more intimate window into Iranian life. 

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: 

This celebrated graphic memoir recounts Satrapi’s childhood in Tehran during and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In stark black-and-white illustrations, the author captures daily life in Tehran and combines it with humour and political insight. 

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi:

This book follows Nafisi, a literature professor who secretly gathers women students in her Tehran home to read Western novels after the Revolution. Their discussions of works like Lolita and The Great Gatsby become a way to talk about freedom, identity and repression. Part reflection, part memoir, it is a powerful cry against authoritarianism.

Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni: 

The author, a journalist, chronicles her return to Iran after growing up in the United States, describing the tensions of being both Iranian and Western. The memoir is a sharp take on gender and fashion, dating and the many contradictions of modern Iran and how Iranians navigate State-imposed restrictions. 

Speed Reads is a column for the bookworm who is short on time and reads on the go.