"Azar Nafisi's bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran ended with her arrival in America with her young family, carrying little more than the beloved books that helped her survive in revolutionary Iran. The Republic of Imagination gives us the next chapter in Azar's journey, as she settles into her new life as a teacher in Washington, DC, and wonders what it means to become an American citizen. She turns for an answer to the writings of the Founding fathers and to her favorite American novels--beginning with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The best novels, Azar reminds us, can transport us across time and space, picking us up and plunking us down in a radically unfamiliar world, like Dorothy in the Land of Oz. But they are not just a means of escape. Through books, we learn to step into other people's shoes and to imagine ourselves confronting difficult choices. In this passionately argued and deeply personal book Azar challenges us to find in fiction the inspiration--and the courage--to lead a more meaningful life." -- Page [4] cover.

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