In Praise of Subtlety

I've been reading The Republic of Imagination by Azar Nafisi. I loved Reading Lolita in Tehran, and this one is equally compelling. The Peter Sis cover and interior illustrations are an extra delight. Nafisi's book is a combination of personal memoir and social commentary, literary analysis and homage to text. The passages about the absurdity of the Common Core struck a resounding chord in my own heart. The way we bandy the words "facts" and "evidence" about today does seem surprisingly Dickensian, in the manner of Gradgrind in Hard Times. No "wondering" or "fancy."