World Famous Comics: Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
By: Marjane Satrapi Publisher: Pantheon Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Pantheon Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 192 Publication Date: August 02, 2005 Release Date: August 02, 2005
Product Description: 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.
Amazon.com Review: Picking up the thread where her debut memoir-in-comics concluded, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return details Marjane Satrapi's experiences as a young Iranian woman cast abroad by political turmoil in her native country. Older, if not exactly wiser, Marjane reconciles her upbringing in war-shattered Tehran with new surroundings and friends in Austria. Whether living in the company of nuns or as the sole female in a house of eight gay men, she creates a niche for herself with friends and acquaintances who feel equally uneasy with their place in the world.
After a series of unfortunate choices and events leave her literally living in the street for three months, Marjane decides to return to her native Iran. Here, she is reunited with her family, whose liberalism and emphasis on Marjane's personal worth exert as strong an influence as the eye-popping wonders of Europe. Having grown accustomed to recreational drugs, partying, and dating, Marjane now dons a veil and adjusts to a society officially divided by gender and guided by fundamentalism. Emboldened by the example of her feisty grandmother, she tests the bounds of the morality enforced on the streets and in the classrooms. With a new appreciation for the political and spiritual struggles of her fellow Iranians, she comes to understand that "one person leaving her house while asking herself, 'is my veil in place?' no longer asks herself 'where is my freedom of speech?'"
Satrapi's starkly monochromatic drawing style and the keenly observed facial expressions of her characters provide the ideal graphic environment from which to appeal to our sympathies. Bereft of fine detail, this graphic novel guides the reader's attention instead toward a narrative rich with empathy. Don't be fooled by the glowering self-portrait of the author on the back flap; it’s nearly impossible to read Persepolis 2 without feeling warmth toward Marjane Satrapi. --Ryan Boudinot
Vive l'Iran... I bought the two books for the wedding of my uncle (who was born in Iran). We have already seen the movie which is really good and so well made. The story is simple, effective and also funny. This is the story of many Iranians who had to leave their country because of a stupid regime. I would like to thank Marjan Satrapi to finally give another image of Iran to people who still think that everybody there wears a beard and yells "Allah" every two seconds. I recommend this book to everybody on Earth, especially to people wearing beards :)
Comic and heart-breaking a story so reallistic and surreal at the same time... I'm starting to love Marjane since now
A bit of a letdown from the absolutely excellent first volume The world of post-revolutionary Iran is one that I know very little about, and it was fascinating to see written and drawn here. Ultimately though, this volume was not as compelling as the first one. The conceit of the young author's conversations and confrontations with god with a backdrop of war and oppression was a lot stronger than the confrontations of a teenager with marriage and school.
On the other hand, if you enjoyed the first volume, this is a required read that I suspect you will appreciate, if not adore as much as that one.
Remarkably precise All due respect to the ALA Alex and YALSA committees, there should also have been a great deal of serious consideration for some of the higher profile major literary awards for this book, one of a pair of volumes that make up Persepolis, The Story of A Childhood and The Story of A Return. As a long-time devotee of the Graphic Novel, I have no hesitation saying these two volumes are the most effective, and affecting examples of the genre I have yet encountered. The narrative is in itself a masterwork, and none the less for being simply the true autobiography I assume it is. The relative amounts of concern given the numerous occurrences is precisely right. The author/artist moves briskly through countless episodes yet leaves in each case a most thorough, profound and lasting impression. The characterizations, especially of Marjane herself and her immediate family are palpable to an extent rarely achieved in what we normally deem "serious literature". Each depiction elicits our deepest concern as hideousness follows hope follows respite follows tragedy follows turmoil, chaos, and humor. It is impossible to separate the art from the text. Each is so precisely crafted in each other's service. It is not since Walt Kelly that I have seen such imminently "readable" faces, postures, and gestures. While on the other hand, one will have no doubt as to the sound of the voices speaking the content of the dialogue balloons. Sadly, the most lasting and, perhaps as intended, the most profound impression one will take from these volumes is an unshakable sadness we must feel on behalf of what might have been a remarkable nation, were it not for man's fascination with fanaticism and the mindless tinkering of the "Super Powers". Persepolis is literally a great mourning bell tolling the tragedy of Iran, albeit ringing out through the thoughts and experiences of a child and then a young, sensitive and phenomenally articulate woman.
A must read! Love love love this book! A must read for everyone! An easy and enlightening read through comic strip form.
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