Engrossing, fascinating, stunning (Margaret Atwood)I was enthralled and moved (Susan Sontag)Anyone who has ever belonged to a book group must read this book (Geraldine Brooks)Vivid, often heroic and sometimes funny ... Nafisi's rather wonderful book touches a beauty of its own (Paul Allen Guardian)Remarkable ... an eloquent brief on the transformative power of fiction (The New York Times)

Every Thursday morning in a living room in Iran, over tea and pastries, eight women meet in secret to discuss forbidden works of Western literature. As they lose themselves in the worlds of Lolita, The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice, gradually they come to share their own stories, dreams and hopes with each other, and, for a few hours, taste freedom. Azar Nafisi's bestselling memoir is a moving, passionate testament to the transformative power of books, the magic of words and the search for beauty in life's darkest moments.