What is the punishment in Iran for discussing Nabokov, Bellow or Fielding?
FK: I don’t know of any punishments for discussing the writings of these authors in Iran. To the average western reader of RLT, it might seem natural to assume that Iranians are prevented from reading western literature. But that is, in fact, not the case at all. In my yearly visits to Iran, I see Iranians as interested in reading world literature as I was back in my teen years and college education. Let me give you a personal anecdote. Last year, I arrived in Tehran right after the major Tehran International Book fair. The piles of books purchased by cousins and other young friends and relatives included all kinds of titles for young adults by native as well as European and American writers. In the regular Shiraz and Tehran bookstores, I purchased many translations of western books including the Davinchi Code, and Senator Hillary Clinton’s autobiography. This latter has the author’s photo on the cover. Curious as to whether there were any omissions in the content, I looked for controv
