Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return | Marjane Satrapi | Though very different tone, a great...

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return | Marjane Satrapi | Nothing like it

books:

Persepolis 2: The ...

	Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return Marjane Satrapi Pantheon, 2005 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 60 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Though very different tone, a great followup to the first

Continuing around where the first book left off, Persepolis 2 covers the author from her early teens to adulthood.

The tone of the second book shifts from the first book in that the character seems to be muich more deliberate with her choices. In the first book she was a wide eyed child trying to find her place in the world, in the second, she has become quite aware of how people see her and her circumstances and is at times resentful and rebellious. In the first book you seem to have so much hope for young Marjorie yet you feel the detachement from reality. But in the second it is much easier to relate to the character, however as a reader I felt frustrated by the limitations and binds placed on her.

In most of the second book Marjorie is not actually living in Iran. She is living independently in Austria, bouncing from home to home, all the while trying to find herself. She then returns the Iran however at this point it is even harder becasue she has become detatched from the culture. She has become someone who doesn't really identify with either culture she has lived in, which I think is a very interesting perspective.

for more information click here

Nothing like it

My bestfriend gave me Persepolis as a birthday gift and told me that it was one of her favorite college required readings. Once I started reading the first one I couldn't but it down and was sad when I was done. Thankfully there was another to follow. As with the first, as soon as I started to read this book I couldn't put it down. This book is like nothing I have ever read befor. Not only did I get to read about anothers life but I learned a great deal about other countries, cultures and their struggles. This book, the first one, and Embroideries also by Satrapi are wonderful.

for more information click here

Marjane's story continues . . .

In this volume of Marjane Satrapi's graphic autobiography, she describes 10 years of her life from her youth as an immigrant in Austria to her return to her homeland, Iran, and finally her decision to leave again. While labeled as a "young adult" book, its references to pretty mature subjects lift it to another level - the volume includes references to drug use, premarital sex, gays, infidelity, homelessness, a suicide attempt and various other experiences that make it more appropriate for mature readers, which is not to say that many young adults wouldn't surely identify with much that Marjane goes through.

The years covered by this part of her story, 1984-1994, saw Iran's war with Iraq and the bombing of Tehran, followed by years of "peace" under the Islamic Revolutionary government, while the Gulf War heated up after the invasion of Kuwait. Politics find their way into her story, as well as the repressive measures of the regime that suppressed dissent and robbed women of personal liberties they had known before the revolution. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she tries a number of ways to find an identity first as an Iranian woman in Europe, then settling for a more conventional life in Iran, marrying a fellow student to avoid the governmental and social strictures circumscribing their lives as lovers. In the end, she chooses divorce and a return to a world outside Iran where she can be free to experience a fuller life. Like the first volume, her story is a mixture of sorrows and humor, told in a compelling way.

for more information click here

An important addition to Persepolis 1...

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, by Marjane Satrapi, is Satrapi's second installment of her graphic novel autobiography. After reading it (can the experience of a graphic novel be adequately described as "reading"?), I felt that it was an important and vital addition to the first Persepolis installment. In Persepolis 2, Satrapi is sent to Austria for an Ayatollah-free education. She meets people unlike herself, and unlike the other Iranians she knew. She thought she was a free-thinking liberal, but that was in the context of Iranian culture, not European.

I think this book needs to be read after Persepolis 1. There is a boxed set, and the novels should be circulated together.

The detail in 2 is much greater than in 1. I would guess this is related to the richer memories of adolescence and adulthood. Satrapi is very open and blunt about her vulnerabilities and transgressions.

I feel that I need to read a Persepolis 3. That is not a bad result for any author!

for more information click here

Persepolis - Personal insight and history book

All of the Marjane Satrapi books, illustrated in drawings, are an excellent view of Iran as it changed with the times and its leaders. This one especially, gives a very special look into the feelings of a somewhat troubled young person. The setting and basis for Marjane's problems is rooted in her life in Iran, but as you read, you see a maturing youth experiencing great discontent with her life. She feels like a misfit. She leans toward anyone who will be her friend. She makes poor choices. She is characteristic of many young people around the world. I would love to see this book used in highschool literature, history, and psych classes, but blunt language and social indulgences with illustrations probably make it unfit. Again, a fast read. Paragraphs of description found in other books are missing; drawings take their place.

for more information click here