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Loading... Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (edition 2005)by Marjane Satrapi
Work InformationPersepolis II: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
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Along the story's winding path it was not obvious how the heroine would find her way. She had to overcome loneliness and poverty in a foreign country; the clutch of the fundamentalist regime in her home country. Then came numerous dissapointments, dead ends and losses. How did she not give up completely? She had a rebelious resolve but that was often shaken and only gave her grief at times. She had her parents but sometimes they were far away or couldn't really help her. She didn't really have stable friends. It seems she had nothing constant in her life, nothing that permeated from childhood into adulthood that i could pinpoint as the reason she overcame all the trouble. While reading this comics i was rooting for her while having no answers to her problems. It's weird because usually when i read fiction i feel like i know the solution that i'd like to shout at the hero. But not here. Here the heroine taught me how to deal with all this life stuff. Cool. When I read a memoir like this, I feel a sense of gratitude towards the author. It's easy enough to share your triumphs. It's not even that difficult to share your foibles. But to actually share your mistakes, the things that made you feel shame, that is an act of courage. Even to admit to such things to an individual is hard. How much more difficult to tell the world? I not only have a greater insight into Iranian culture in the early 90s but feel more connected with my own humanity. 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.
Unlike the first book, it’s disjointed, tawdry, and unfocused. The story of her young adulthood doesn’t demonstrate the insight that made the first book so special. May Satrapi continue to blend the personal and the political to such extraordinary effect. Ultimately, Persepolis 2 provides another valuable window into an alien (yet all too human) way of life, but it's a far more difficult book than Persepolis. A child who lets her harsh environment interfere with her empathy for others is understandable and tragic, but an adult with the same problem borders on distressing solipsism. Satrapi's voice is very much her own, and the way the clash between European and Middle Eastern culture has played out in her life makes for compelling reading. What her book lacks, though, is perspective on the cultural revolution in which she and her circle lived (and sometimes died). Still, her rebellious stunts never undermine Satrapi's unconditional love for her troubled homeland—which, in these times of religious fervor and political gain, resonates all the more poignantly. Belongs to SeriesPersepolis (Omnibus 3-4) Is contained inContainsAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
The great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor and the daughter of ardent Marxists continues her description of growing up in Tehran--a country plagued by political upheaval and vast contradictions between public and private life. No library descriptions found. |
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