She's so vicious, right? Anywho...Finished up Reading Lolita in Tehran some time ago. I really need to be more selective in my bus literature. See, as I've mentioned before, I'm quite the cry baby. So, imagine the waterworks on overdrive while finishing up such emotional heaviness in public.
When the BF and I saw Where the Wild Things Are, I complained that I didn't like seeing emotional movies in the theater because I prefer to get my cry on in private. Brilliant gent he is, he countered, "Movies are designed that way. To create a shared experience. Doesn't it feel richer to go through that journey with a large group rather than by yourself?" Touche philosophy buff. Moving on...
I adore books that deal with themes of home; Reading Lolita in Tehran is all over this. Throughout the memoir, the Tehran of Nafisi's youth and the Tehran she lives in duke it out. It's so fascinating to see her generation struggle with the current regime; they're fighting for a society--and home--that no longer exists. At the same time, her students are battling for wholly different reasons.
Books like this really put things into perspective. My complaints and woes are downright silly compared to the hardships endured by the real people in Nafisi's work. Interestingly, as I was thinking this, I came across what would turn out to be one of my favorite passages.
"Why is it that stories like Lolita and Madame Bovary--stories that are so sad, so tragic--make us happy? Is it not sinful to feel pleasure when reading about something so terrible? Would we feel this way if we were to read about it in the newspapers or if happened to us? If we were to write about our lives here in the Islamic Republic of Iran, should we make our readers happy?"
So why is this book--not a novel, but a memoir, so enjoyable to read? Is it wrong to feel grateful and even happy while reading this? The writing is so beautiful and tear inducing. Painfully enjoyable, you might say.
6 comments:
Gabby is a cutie, our cats have still caught mice without their front claws...LOL
Mouse? EEEEK!
I don't know if reading/watching something very tragic makes us HAPPY per se. I feel it is more of a feeling of admiration for the expression that is found in those works, because there is something undeniably beautiful in great sadness, struggle, and despair. It highlights humanity at its most vulnerable, and especially in works where a character dares to stand up amongst all that is going wrong, it gives readers/viewers that most basic of joys and hopes, even if that character doesn't succeed in the end. At least, that's how I feel. Some of my favorite movies/books/plays are SAD without happy endings, but I wouldn't say that reading/watching them makes me happy.
I think reading a tragic book can make a reader happy. It's the experience of reading the eloquent writing and gaining understanding of another world - a situation the reader will never personally experience - that makes it enjoyable, even if the book's subject is a sad one. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it.
Reading the newspaper and taking joy in straightforward reports of others' pain would be entirely different, I think.
Your kitty is adorable, by the way :)
Diane- Thanks! Hmm, your cats have given me some hope that the sleeping hunter in Gabby will rise to the challenge. :)
Amy- I know, sooo gross! Completely agree--it's not as though we readers are happy that characters are suffering. But seeing these really rough experiences is enjoyable. The whole concept was actually kind of hard for me to articulate. I think because happy and enjoy are such related words.
Ali- Hear, hear! You've hit the nail on the head much more eloquently than I could have. Thanks for the Gabby compliments! :)
Aw, what a sweetie! Our kitty girl is 15 years old and half blind, but she can still hunt. I'm so impressed by her adaptability, going half blind and still so vigorous.
I loved the book Reading Lolita in Tehran. Such a powerful memoir and the the amazing stories of their lives made me cry. It also inspires you to read other great literatures.
Post a Comment