In Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,” Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story.
In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.
Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane …
In Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,” Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story.
In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.
Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.
As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.
Persepolis 1 was okay. But, Persepolis 2 is probably the real reason this book is famous across the globe. And it wasn't that good.
I can totally see how she and others felt their freedom was being suppressed. But, that's just the opinion of an elite living in some North Tehran district. Most of Iran at that time, felt liberated from the shackles of the Shah.
Academia, media, pop culture promotes this book clearly because it says the opposite. Otherwise very mid-book!
This was a bit of a departure from the first half of Persepolis. Here we cover Satrapi's life from the time she arrived in Vienna, through her return to Iran, and finally ending when she leaves again. While the first Persepolis covered her times living through the war, this was more about her growing up as an awkward teenager and learning to become a woman. Interesting, but less so than the unique war perspective.
It's certainly interesting how, in spite of how progressive Satrapi and her parents were, she manages to be shocked by how much people were flouting their sexuality around her. And when she returns to Iran, even though she was quite reserved compared to her European friends, she manages to be wildly more progressive about sex than anyone she meets in her new studies.
The bits about the quiet ways that people resisted the regime were neat …
This was a bit of a departure from the first half of Persepolis. Here we cover Satrapi's life from the time she arrived in Vienna, through her return to Iran, and finally ending when she leaves again. While the first Persepolis covered her times living through the war, this was more about her growing up as an awkward teenager and learning to become a woman. Interesting, but less so than the unique war perspective.
It's certainly interesting how, in spite of how progressive Satrapi and her parents were, she manages to be shocked by how much people were flouting their sexuality around her. And when she returns to Iran, even though she was quite reserved compared to her European friends, she manages to be wildly more progressive about sex than anyone she meets in her new studies.
The bits about the quiet ways that people resisted the regime were neat to read about. An inch of scarf length, a peek of a hairline, a shawl that doesn't quite obscure every part of your body. Still playing within the insane rules of the fundamentalist regime, but trying to push the limits of what the authorities would bother to comment on.
A lot of this revolved around women's rights in Iran. And honestly, as much as I feel it's an important subject, it's just not that interesting to me. Satrapi often feels like the most progressive woman in the country, pushing buttons and convincing others to push them too, but she's mostly doing normal stuff from a western perspective. Having sex with your fiance, wearing makeup, and getting a divorce are huge deals with Iran's fundamentalist culture, but aren't really interesting from a western perspective. At the very least, this dichotomy between the severity and mundanity of the situation does drive the point home.
It's certainly nice to get the rest of Satrapi's story, and it ends with a weird amount of finality considering it ends less than halfway through her still-ongoing life, but I found this volume lacks a lot of the charm and impact of the first half of the story.
Satrapi's strength is the ability to write a book that is about her life that is meaningful in the context of the historic events occurring in Iran during her lifetime, but also about her inner narrative. There's a contrast between the parts that are nearly unimaginable for the average American -- a co-worker who is beaten by the police for a misinterpreted cartoon, worrying about holding hands, two men beaten for driving in a car together, inability to show one's hair and so forth -- and the feelings that are universal: the desire for belonging, fear of isolation and a spectrum of normal teenage emotions.
I found the parts set in Vienna less interesting -- I think the compelling nature of the narrative derives in part from Sartapi's self-insight either at the time or in retrospect, and while in Vienna it mostly feels like she wasn't herself. There's a detachment …
Satrapi's strength is the ability to write a book that is about her life that is meaningful in the context of the historic events occurring in Iran during her lifetime, but also about her inner narrative. There's a contrast between the parts that are nearly unimaginable for the average American -- a co-worker who is beaten by the police for a misinterpreted cartoon, worrying about holding hands, two men beaten for driving in a car together, inability to show one's hair and so forth -- and the feelings that are universal: the desire for belonging, fear of isolation and a spectrum of normal teenage emotions.
I found the parts set in Vienna less interesting -- I think the compelling nature of the narrative derives in part from Sartapi's self-insight either at the time or in retrospect, and while in Vienna it mostly feels like she wasn't herself. There's a detachment and a lack of emotionality that drives the parts of the narrative set in Iran. Additionally, the strongest parts of the book were when Sartapi had conflict between her mother, father and grandmother -- these relatives are so close to her and so fundamental to her being that the conflicts had a clear tension. Without these supporting characters in the narrative the stakes seemed much lower.
Satrapi's black and white illustrations are stark and sometimes simplistic, which I think allows the underlying narrative to shine through, although I frequently had trouble distinguishing between characters, especially men.
Review of 'Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Persepolis #3-4)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Like its predecessor, I read this in one sitting. A part of me admits that I was not happy with some of the mistakes she made, yet I suppose one has to make the mistakes in order to learn. The story is as moving as ever; it is engaging. It just draws you in. The history lesson is there as well. Like other readers, I have wondered how people allow a totalitarian regime to rise. It often sneaks up on you, as it did in this memoir. A lesson to remain vigilant. The ending is bittersweet, but a good one as she finally finds her freedom. Definitely recommended. Though I borrowed them from the public library, these are books I would love to acquire for my collection. These are definitely must-reads. As I said before, a fine example of what can be done with the graphic novel format.
