author: Azar Nafisi
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/11/03
date added: 2014/11/03
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'The Republic of Imagination' by Azir Nafisi ('Reading Lolita in Tehran') is an impassioned plea for literature in her adopted home of America. In an era where bookstores are closing, schools are moving away from literature, and we are more distracted, she makes the case for why literature is vital to a society.
The book takes three novels and makes her case: 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain, 'Babbitt' by Sinclair Lewis, and 'The Heart is a Lonely Hunter' by Carson McCullers. Each has parallels to our day whether it is showing how materialism and the pursuit of the newest gadget is as American as a pervading sense of isolation even while we are in a crowd. She talks about how literature can get us beyond lists of facts into a new place where we can meet characters similar and dissimilar to us. She rails against the common core and how it turns it's back on literature in favor of a more factual, science based education, and what we lose with that.
Intertwined with her explorations are stories and people from her real life. From a childhood friend with terminal cancer to friends made during protest marches in the States. The true stories show how literature can provide us with perspective and understanding. It's a much more personal book than I anticipated when I read about it, but that's not a bad thing at all. Literature should connect to us at a personal level as it does with this author.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Penguin Group Viking, Viking Adult and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this fine ebook.
via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1wZawdg
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