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The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books Hardcover – October 21, 2014

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Azar Nafisi (Author)
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Azar Nafisi (Author), Peter Sis (Illustrator)
3.9 out of 5 stars 53 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: The Viking Press; 1st edition (October 21, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670026069
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670026067
  • Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.2 x 8.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThis is America
By Dr. Wilson Trivino on October 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover
I am a child of immigrants from Colombia, South America and was born in the US and grew up in the South. Even though I am a full fledge American, part of my identity comes from my Colombian roots.
In her book, The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books, Azar Nafisi shares her journey to America and how it became her adopted home. She is proud to be an American but yet still connects to her Iranian roots.
This beautifully written story uses the lens of American fiction to gage the American odyssey.
Nafisi admits her idea for this book came about after an encounter with a fellow Iranian immigrant who states that American attitude toward literature was indifferent because they did not understand oppression. He told the author, “These people are different from us- they are from another world. They don’t care about books and such things.”
Her analysis of the current state of affairs is free flowing, but in the end she realizes that the future is not as bleak. She discovers that the secret world of imagination is one that is open to all and often discovered by a few. This book is a wakeup call to encourage the next generation of writers and thinkers. Ideas are fuel for a rich and cultured society. But the themes of immigrants, guilt, and standardization of learning mixed with personal reflection makes for a harmony of experiences captured in this book.
I believe that the literate elite has always been a minority but they will always continue to exist. The real challenge is to create windows of imagination. Nafisi has create a portal where readers can choose this whimsical path.
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4.0 out of 5 starsAn eye opener for more reasons than you might think...
By Gut Reaction Reviews on October 31, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Every once in a while a book comes along that not only makes you think, but challenges you in ways you were not expecting. This would be one of those books.

Azar Nafisi has the unique advantage of viewing this country and its attitude toward art and literature from the outside. Originally from Iran, she has become an American citizen (in her words because she found herself grumbling about America so she knew she was an American). But it is her heritage that gives her a different understanding of the meaning of fiction and how this country views it.

Using four writers, which she had narrowed from a list of twenty-four, Nafisi shows us how fiction is not only necessary but vital to the health of this nation. She makes the point that imagination, defined as free thinking, is nurtured by fiction and without it a society will suffer and stagnate. Beginning with Mark Twain, then Sinclair Lewis, followed by Carson McCullers, and ending with James Baldwin, Nafisi reinforces the idea that literature is as important to one’s education as science and technology.

Nafisi knows what it means to live in a country where imagination is stifled, books are banned, and people are imprisoned or killed for simply seeking an education. This book challenges all of us to make sure literature and art do not disappear and to actively promote both in our schools and in our communities.

Her ideas can be summed into one question she asks in the book. “Why do tyrants understand the dangers of a democratic imagination more than our policy makers appreciate its necessity?” While I agree with almost all of what she says, the only negative aspect to the book is that she injects her opinions with a heavy hand.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsGood book of Literary Criticism
By Celia on October 21, 2014
Format: Hardcover
It was a very well written book of literary criticism and it inspired me to read the writer's very well known book Reading Lolita in Tehran. However, in reading the Republic of the Imagination, it helped that I had read within the last ten years two of the books Ms. Nafisi reviewed, Huckleberry Finn and Babbitt; in addition I liked both of these books. I found it harder to read the section where Ms. Nafisi examines The Heart is a Lonely Hunter which I have not read. However, this book did make me want to read it.

It is a book for English majors and people who enjoy reading about literary fiction; it is not a book for fiction nonbelievers. I was a little disappointed that the book was not a call to arms about the joys and importance of fiction which I do think is under attack now. However, perhaps that goes beyond the scope of the book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThis Is a Must For All Teachers of English
By Eric Selby on October 28, 2014
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I must start with a little piece of personal information that does relate to this wonderful book. My mother was proud--very, very proud--to be a member of the Mayflower Society. And she signed my two natural born daughters as life members but not my son who was adopted and is Obama black (white natural mother, black natural father) because only those who are blood-lined can belong she said (probably true). But she never wanted to acknowledge that her father's mother, who died in childbirth, was Native American. So when I arrived at page 60 of this book, I just roared because Twain had it all so very, very right about my white Puritan ancestors! Horrid people really!
Although I thought maybe the introduction (it's 35 pages long) could have been reduced some--that maybe some of the personal information about the author's Iranian roots and the friendships she has had with women who were born there but came here to live were not really that relevant, once I got into the "meat" of the book, it just couldn't have been more wonderful. So I have just ordered copies of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," (it's been years since I read it), "Babbitt" (haven't read it since college over fifty years ago where I majored in English), and a collection of Carson McCuller's shorter works: the three authors Azar Nafisi has selected to analyze.
This is a book that English teachers should read at both the high school and college/university level. It is not a book filled with scholarly footnotes (there are none) but instead is a passionate long essay about the values of reading quality literature, most especially these three authors.
If I would award it a few more stars I would.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Wonderful book! Thanks!

Published 14 days ago by Artfour Artsake
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Beutiful book. Very much interesting.

Published 1 month ago by Maite Rodriguez Gutierrez
3.0 out of 5 starsAn interesting combination of both a literary critique and a ...

An interesting combination of both a literary critique and a societal one. You can see the academic background coming into play as Azar raises a lot of points for discussion both... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Nancy R.
5.0 out of 5 starsAn important read

I am passionate about this book. She gives us all plenty of reason to re-think our neglect of our national literature.

Published 3 months ago by E. Wharton
1.0 out of 5 starsA case not made

A major disappointment. In making its case for fiction this is a book that resembles a long-winded and not very interesting essay. Read more

Published 4 months ago by M. J. Walsh
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing insights!

How is it that many of the best observations of America come from our newer citizens? Azar matches her clarity and brilliance with the caress of a lover. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Scott R.
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A must-read for every American citizen! Outstanding!

Published 6 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsA must read

Very bright and illuminating. A courageous lady who has so many things to teach other than literature. A wide range of quotes and reference that teaches the reader a lot. Read more

Published 7 months ago by ginno
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great writer

Published 8 months ago by Paul Ramsey
1.0 out of 5 starsSerious inaccuracies in Nafisi's description of Common Core State...

The Common Core State Standards are not a "curriculum." Please visit the Common Core State Standards web site to get accurate information. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Elizabeth Vesilind

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