Read Dangerously : The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times
Author(s): Azar Nafisi
The New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with a guide to the power of literature in turbulent times, arming readers with a resistance reading list, ranging from James Baldwin to Zora Neale Hurston to Margaret Atwood.
"[A] stunning look at the power of reading. ... Provokes and inspires at every turn." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Remarkable. ... Audacious." —The Progressive
What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics?
In this galvanizing guide to literature as resistance, Nafisi seeks to answer these questions. Drawing on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, her life as an immigrant in the United States, and her role as literature professor in both countries, she crafts an argument for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so.
Structured as a series of letters to her father, who taught her as a child about how literature can rescue us in times of trauma, Nafisi explores the most probing questions of our time through the works of Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood, and more.
Review(s):
"One of the remarkable things about Read Dangerously is the extent to which Nafisi’s father emerges as a vibrant and fully developed character, years after his death. She effortlessly resurrects his intellectual presence. ... Read Dangerously lives up to its audacious title, demonstrating the subversive and transformative power of literature. It should start many a book-based conversation."
"Makes the compelling case that books can help confront societal challenges. ... Reminds us of the power of reading."
"[A] stunning look at the power of reading. ... Nafisi's prose is razor-sharp, and her analysis lands on a hopeful note. ... This excellent collection provokes and inspires at every turn."
"A contemporary treatise on oppression wherever it exists, Read Dangerously raises Nafisi to new heights. ... Illuminate[s] the lessons of literature at a time when the state of the world seems bleak. ... A political writer's brilliant attempt to understand historical and political events, as well as human nature."
"To say it's timely would be an understatement."
"Reading remains a subversive activity. Great books, as Nafisi rightly claims, 'reflect and transcend the prejudices of the author as well as their time and place.' Count this one among them."
ISBN: 9780062947369