After spending several years studying and living a wild lifestyle in Austria, Marjane Satrapi returns to her native Iran, where the effects of the Islamic Revolution are still going strong. Home again, she struggles to find herself, returning to school, falling in love, exploring ideas with new friends, and discovering more about her family’s history, all the while trying to avoid The Guardians of the Revolution.

Persepolis 2 is just as enjoyable as the first, and I look forward to reading more of Satrapi’s work.

The continuation of Persepolis: A Childhood, this book covers the time from when Marjane goes to Austria alone as a 14 (or so) year old, her experiences there freed from almost all ties, and finally her return to Iran, where the war has ended but the restrictions are still there. She gives an impassioned defence of the importance of a good education. She really makes your heart throb for her as she experiences her own heartaches in life.

Satrapi could write the phone book and I would read it! Though I liked the first volume best, this was an awesome read. Should be require reading for graphic novel fans and students. If this was used in my Middle East History Class in College, I would have liked the class much better.
Alas, a classic and worth consuming!

I found this sequel to Persepolis to be even more engaging than the first book. I was told that the first book is a prerequisite to the second and I agree; the first book sets the stage for the second.

I found the second book even more interesting than the first because, as a young adult, Marji has a more sophisiticated understanding of what’s going on around her. In this book, she leaves her childhood home in Iran and goes to school in Vienna, Austria, where she encounters and entirely different culture. She frequently experiences racism and this shapes her experience.

When she returnes to her country, she sees the restrictions and hardships through new eyes. I particularly enjoyed her observations about the culture of Iran. The history of the country’s conflicts were less interesting to me, but I learned a lot about Iran in reading this book.

I found that the book was very ‘real’ in the way it portrayed the author’s experiences. I can’t imagine this book being written without the art; it absolutely shines as a graphical novel and the author is masterful in her use of art to tell her story.

I’m deeply impressed by both books and can’t recommend them enough!