Reading Lolita in Tehran

For a start - delete everything you just associated that title with and let us start again. 

This book is about a woman and her study group that read the "banned" literature of the western world in hopes of engaging with dark secrets kept there and even darker secrets about themselves. 

I found this book on my global reading list - it comes under Iranian Fiction. 

Also, fairly positive review here guys. Fairly positive. 

Characters:

My favourite character is our narrator. She seems so in touch with the emotions and movement of the group from book to book as they encounter The Great Gatsby and Fiction by Nabokov. It is quite moving for a character to relate so much of their own experience to the experience of literature. 

Themes:

BOOKS! One of the main themes is literature and I love that. It was so deeply explored as well - there was always a certainty that an experience with a book would relate to a dark secret of some kind kept by a member of the group. 

Storyline:

I enjoyed the way the story unfolded slowly. With things to do with secrecy, especially involving women, the main thing to control is pace. The slower, steadier and craftier the unfolding process - the more sensational it becomes. 

Verdict:

I give this book 8/9

2/3 for characters: I say this because there were no real surprises with character. No shocks or twists. 

100% for themes: Who doesn't love books within books?

100% for storyline: The depths of sensation were brilliant. It's a multi-complex story with amazing potential.