Reading Lolita in Tehran Lesson Plan

What role do books play in Azar’s life during the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution of 1979?

Fiction acts as an anchor for Azar. Her books and her classes are a refuge from the turmoil; they are a source of stability. Fiction allows, at once, for some escape from her reality and the massive changes happening in her country, and for a lens through which to see that change and grapple with it. She chose to teach revolutionary authors because she sees herself as revolutionary, and that literature became all the more important in the midst of revolution. You might take this opportunity to talk with your students about the things they cling to in times of hardship or...