After her global success with Reading Lolita in Tehran, it's not unsurprising Azar Nafisi picked Vladimir Nabokov as the subject of her That Other World. Spanning across several essays, Nafisi takes a deep dive into Nabokov's work by drawing parallel with her life and struggles in the Iran after the Islamic revolution, and deriving sparkling insights. Though Nafisi's brilliant prose props up the book's somewhat glacial nature, it's nevertheless a treat for Nabokov fans.

This is not a book for the general reader but an academic and scholarly exploration of Nabokov’s writing in a series of seven essays in which Nafisi examines how Nabokov seemed to articulate for her and many others in post-revolutionary Iran their feelings of loss, alienation and exile. The realities of life under the new regime seemed to find a voice in Nabokov’s novels, and she writes about them with insight and perception. Her close reading of the texts and her biographical excursions makes the book essential reading for Nabokov studies. Some of the book I enjoyed very much, especially the essay on Lolita, but as I find much of Nabokov’s writing tough going in any case I wasn’t always engaged by her exposition and found some of it too abstruse. Nevertheless, I feel this is a book that I will appreciate having by my side whenever I read Nabokov in the future and feel sure it will enhance my reading and understanding.

This was an ok read for me. It had parts that were really interesting and then there were parts that I felt went on a little bit too long. The writing is really good, though.

I loved this book, it was part memoir and part literary criticism. As with all the books by this author it makes you see thing differently and helps you appreciate great literature.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge.