Hurricane Hanna Reading Recommendation: Persepolis 1 & 2

These graphic novels were so great. I would read them while getting my shoulder iced at PT (whoops! wasn't gonna keep talking about that) and all the PT-ists were so intrigued. I, in turn, was intrigued to see them show interest in something besides sports and hamburgers (Philistines) but I digress. I hadn't seen the movie yet so I really knew nothing about the plot and themes. They were immensely satisfying and when I was through I was begging for more. I especially appreciated the comic-book format; her illustrations though simple were dead on. I guess its main impact for me, aside from learning about the Iranian Revolution, was that it played to my interest in travel and other cultures. I've been back from my 18-month experience in Thailand for 2 years now, but I will never forget what it's like to realize just how different other cultures are from my own... and how simultaneously they are exactly the same. I felt Marjane's story could have been my own, and that in a way, it was. As I talk about each, I'm going to roughly summarize them, so although I'll stay away from too many details you should stop reading if you haven't read them yet and don't want to know anything ahead of time. Marjane is my new hero and we are totally on first-name basis and you should definitely read her books.

The first one was interesting from a historical perspective on the Iranian Revolution. I remember a lot about the unrest in the Middle East from when I was a small kid, but it comes in spurts and I was too young to really understand. Here I get the reactions of a young Iranian girl who did not have the luxuries of spurts and ignorance. Marjane's family was pretty liberal and wide-thinking, and their ideologies shine through, they continue to drink alcohol and participate in other forbidden activities just to show they won't be controlled by the state, even as Marjane's close relatives go off to war, are punished for the smallest infractions, are killed at war or in prison. It also personally affects her entry into adolescence, with her interest in Western culture and punk, things that are punishable by arrest and possibly death. It was humorous to imagine trying to dress like a punk rocker while wearing a veil. She is the smartest girl in her school but is repressed and can't express herself, especially because she is female. Over all this she gives a broad narration of political events. It was very informative and relatable.

Persepolis 2 continued the story, focusing more on Marjane's personal life. At 14 her parents send her to Austria so she can be safe from danger and mainly so she can get a real education instead of the narrow, extremist religion-focused education she gets in Iran. So in Austria she is ostracized as a foreigner and finds it hard to fit in. The themes in this second book are those of adolescent uncertainty and isolation, experimenting with drugs and sex, enjoying her freedom from repressive Iran but feeling very alone and misunderstood. Returning to Iran four years later she realizes how different she is from the people she used to know. She has lived in Western culture. Once again she feels like an outsider. While abroad she hadn't even followed all the events in Iran because it made her even more different, she the only one of her friends who had seen war and death. But coming back, part of what she had to do is come to terms with the war and her identity as an Iranian. She learns to be comfortable with herself and her views, no matter who it separates her from. She is lucky to have parents and relatives who think the same way she does.

Now go, friends, go! Run to the nearest online book order site. Then return and report whether they have figured out a way to serve orange mocha frappuccinos over the webnets.