The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books Audiobook

Quotes

• “Nafisi reflects on her lifelong love for Western literature through an exhilarating exploration of three American classics.”

  — O, The Oprah Magazine

• “Nafisi is back, this time exploring novels that speak to her about America (now her home)…She reminds us that immigrants bring many things to America, starting with a fresh set of eyes.”

  — Vanity Fair

• “In works by Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis, and Carson McCullers, Nafisi finds the essence of the American experience, filtered through narratives not about exceptionalism or fabulous success but alienation, solitude, and landscape. Her argument is compelling, but more than that, her pleasure in these works is contagious…Will Americans be as willing to take to heart a book that puts us on the spot and asks of us the same serious questions that Nafisi asked of the regime in Tehran? We are more spread out than Iranians, more thoughtless, more susceptible to the marketing of ignorance, perhaps—especially in an election season. But read it. It will do you good.”

  — Washington Post

• “Nafisi presents a passionate and compelling case for the return of the imagination to our nation’s esteem…As a teacher, she often hears the question posed to all English teachers: Why do we have to read this? This book is a thoughtful and brilliant answer to that question.”

  — Minneapolis Star-Tribune

• “Mixing memoir with literary criticism and social critique, Nafisi contends that imaginative literature is essential to good citizenship…Through accessible and informative readings…Nafisi succeeds in conveying her broader point—that Great American Novels can teach us to be good ‘citizen readers.’”

  — Publishers Weekly

• “Nafisi responded to a reader’s comment that books don’t matter to Americans the way they did to Nafisi’s Iranian students by analyzing her most beloved works of American literature, especially The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Babbitt, and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.”

  — Library Journal

• “The Iranian American author of Reading Lolita in Tehran makes a passionate argument for returning to key American novels in order to foster creativity and engagement…A literary study that derives its emotional power from Nafisi’s personal story and relationship.”

  — Kirkus Reviews