Persepolis 2 Book Review

Persepolis 2

Imagine being a teenage girl in a war torn sexist country. Your only salvation is to leave to a far away land. Marjane Strapi wrote the novel Persepolis 2 as an autobiography. Marjane describes her life as an Iranian teenager living in Vienna. The novel goes in to depth describing the kind of people that Marjane met while she was in Austria. The reader then gets a look at Marjane’s life when she moves back to Iran. A poignant picture is painted of the differences between society in Iran as compared to Europe. Marjane has many great conversations in the novel with her parents and her grandmother about the war that tore Iran apart while she was in Austria. The novel describes what Iran was like after the war with Iraq and the Iranian revolution. We get a glimpse of Tehran and how it looked after the war. There are splendid examples of Iranian culture and the strict laws that were bestowed upon women. The book is eccentric and a lively read for anyone above the age of fifteen whom desires to learn about the Iranian revolution while reading a graphic novel.

Marjane Strapi’s scenes in the book brilliantly describe what life is like in Iran. The novel is keen, easy to understand, and thought provoking. It is comically graphic with many funny scenes depicting the struggles of women in Iranian culture. A spirited quote from the novel that represents this is, "Yes…but…when you run, your behind makes movements that are…how you say…obscene!" Marjane then responded, "Well then don’t look at my ass!" This depicts how men dominate Iranian society while providing a humorous context. The graphics are marvelous and make the book captivating. Many scenes in the novel masterfully illustrate the trials and tribulations teenagers’ face including sex, drugs, peer pressure, and change.

Readers will enjoy Persepolis 2. It is the story of Marjane Strapi’s life, a teenager during the Iranian Revolution. Teenagers and adults will relate to this superb first-rate and insightful novel. Persepolis 2 is a must read.
Book’s Rating: J J J J Book Review

Acrostic Poem

Memoir

Adolescence

Revolution

Journey

Austria

Nostalgia

East

My 15 Favorite Quotations

1. "Yes…but…when you run, your behind makes movements that are…how do you say…obscene."… "Well then don’t look at my ass!"(147)
2. "How much? How much?"… "Fuck you! Son of a bitch!"(166)
3. "We have two babies! We have to stock up on powdered mil and diapers."(167)
4. "A first marriage is a dry run for the second. You’ll be more satisfied the next time. In the meantime, if you’re crying so much, maybe it mean that you still love him! There’s no reason you have to tell him everything right away."(179)
5. "If a guy kills ten women in the presence of fifteen others, no one can condemn him because in a murder case, we women, we can’t even testify!"(183)
6. "Is religion defending our physical integrity or is it just opposed to fashion?"(143)
7. "It was like a bad American movie. One of those films where the surprised man wraps himself in a sheet and out of modesty says: ‘Wait, I can explain everything.’"(78)
8. "Ah, there you are! I lost my brooch. I’m sure that you’re the one who took it."(79)
9. "Anyway, her parents clearly don’t care about her, or they wouldn’t have sent her alone."(42)
10. "Her Tyrolean Austrian father wore pants made of leather, Her Tyrolean Italian mother had a mustache. Only her sister reminded me of Heidi."(17)
11. "An eccentric, a puck, two orphans, and a third-worlder, we made quite a group of friends."(13)
12. "It had been four years since I’d seen such a well-stocked store."(6)
13. "But what in the world can this mean? She hates fruit yogurt."(25)
14. "It’s true what they say about Iranians. They have no education."(23)
15. It’s true what they about you, too. You were all prostitutes before becoming nuns!"(23)

Alliteration

"My shame at not having become someone, the shame of not having made my parents proud after all the sacrifices they had made for me."(90)

Allusion

"The blood of our martyrs which has nourished the flowers of our republic."(142)

Foreshadowing

"We all end up having to accept ourselves"… "Yes…I know that better than anyone."(108)

Irony

"Everything’s fine, sir. I’m a little sick, I feel very tired."(72)