Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

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 graphic memoir 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.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Published: 08/31/2004
ISBN: 9780375422881
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.28h x 6.36w x 0.82d
Award: Books for a Better Life - Finalist

Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 04/15/2004 pg. 64
Publishers Weekly 06/21/2004 pg. 58
Booklist 08/01/2004 pg. 1916
Women's Review of Books 09/01/2004 pg. 8
People Weekly 09/06/2004 pg. 53
Library Journal 09/01/2004 pg. 129
USA Today 09/09/2004 pg. 1
Booksense '76 September 2004 09/01/2004 pg. 1
Booksense '76 October 2004 10/01/2004 pg. 1
SLJ's Best Books 12/01/2004 pg. 49
School Library Journal 12/01/2004 pg. 177
Entertainment Weekly 12/31/2004 pg. 142
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/15/2005 pg. 771
LJ Best Books of Year 01/01/2005 pg. 58
ALA Best Books Young Adults 02/15/2005 pg. 1006
Booklist Ed Choice Adu Bk YA's 01/01/2005 pg. 771
New York Review of Books 04/07/2005 pg. 40
School Library Journal 04/01/2005 pg. 63

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 85377 / Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Reading Level: 3.9 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 4