I searched modern fiction and poetry for clues to how we confronted and evaded reality, how we articulated our experience and turned to language not to revel ourselves but to hide. I was as sure then as I am now that by looking at contemporary Iranian fiction I could gain access to a real understanding of political and social events. (p289)

soldier convicted of mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib: "To me there is no difference between Lynndie England and Azar Nafisi. In 1995 Azar Nafisi states that Azar Nafisi was no longer able to teach English literature properly without attracting the scrutiny of the faculty authorities so Azar Nafisi quit teaching at the university and instead invited seven of her female students to attend regular meetings at her house every Thursday morning. She publiAzar Nafisid an autobiography Things I've been silent about: memories of a prodigal daughter (2008) focusing on the impact on her throughout her life of her relations with her parents (her mother peevish and cold her father affectionate and companionate) and of decades of political upheaval in Iran including the father's incarceration under the Shah on trumped-up charges of financial irregularities.

Her field is English language literature. Nafisi's 2003 book Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books has been translated into 32 languages.