Graphic novel comes of age. This is the first novel I have seen by a writer trained as a graphic artist. It is wonderful!

I loved Persepolis, so when I realized there was a Persepolis 2, I quickly bought a used copy from Amazon. When I received it, I was very disappointed to learn that I had already read it! Although my first book was entitled Persepolis, it contained both stories. Check your copy of Persepolis before you buy the sequel; you may have read it!

The first novel in this series succeeded because its childlike graphics and gee-whiz storytelling matched perfectly with this subject matter. We could imagine the infant/child author telling her story in exactly these terms.
This sequel fails because the issues of growing up and dealing with the disillusionment with one's own culture are much more subtle. The story and the graphics remind us constantly of the nuances that are left out, of the issues of women's rights and humanity that are sentimentalized, of the real conflicts that this child/woman is undergoing that are completely unexplored.
There are a few quibbles to be explored: the view of vienna is odd and the little vignette of the narrator peeing standing up seems forced. But most importantly, the mismatch between the story and the way in which it is told ends up making for a read that turns boring quickly.

I call myself a history buff but in reality I really only know American history with a little knowledge of King Henry VIII. I was 18 when Iranian crisis started. This book gave me a better insight to the overall issues behind this area than any other reading I had done, which I admit is not vast. The difference here was this book laid things out in such an engaging way I was totally engrossed. The author was both straight foward and insightful, along with quite humorous.

This is the only book that I have manged to read the entire of it in one day!
It is a comic book, supper easy read and very educational in terms of knowing different culture.
I like Persepolis 2 better than 1.
U may wanna watch the movie, as well. It won and nominated for many awards in 2007.

A strong sequel to Satrapi's original autobiography, Persepolis, also told in graphic novel format. In part 2, Satrapi relates her time in Vienna and her return to Iran. She grows up, in short, and grapples with her exile, her nationality and universal coming-of-age struggles -- from experimenting with drugs, to finding love. As in the first novel, Satrapi's black-and-white illustrations contrast with the multi-hued complexity of the political and religious backdrop of Iranian culture.

Persepolis II takes us from 1984 to 1994 in the continuing story of Marjane Satrapi's life. As this episode begins, she is 15, alone in Vienna at the Catholic boarding school to which here parents sent her to escape war and religious conflict in Iran. Marjane makes her way through the foreign landscape, learns the language, makes friends and eventually loses her way, tumbling into a world of drugs and homelessness. Dispirited, she returns to Iran and to her parents, only to be oppressed by the rigid fundamentalism that gripped the country during this period. Nevertheless, she studies art, falls in love and marries, and then faces the loss of her marriage.

Satrapi's great skill is in depicting herself with utter honesty. Whether it be her volatile and rebellious nature, the "beauty mark" on the side of her nose or her experimentation with drugs and sex, she comes completely clean about how she was and how she got there. Her artwork -- stark black-and-white graphic images -- seems rudimentary at first, but quickly establishes its visual appeal and ability to communicate. This book is less political than the original Persepolis, with Satrapi wrestling more with inner demons than with those in the world at large. Her depiction of the excesses of the mullahs -- beatings, executions, petty harassment -- is balanced with her admission that some mullahs were moderate, and even kind.

Persepolis II, unlike some sequels, is as interesting and vital is the first volume. By the end, I was excited about the possibility of a Persepolis III. You go, Marjane!

Persepolis 1 was definately more funny and dramatic than this followup novel. This book seemed dark and brooding. I also found it harder to identify with the main character. It almost as if she hestitates from fully constructing her most profound difficulties and the storyline talkes over. Still a good book though I'd repurchase it in a HEARTBEAT!

Persepolis 2 is not on the same level as Persepolis 1. It seems rushed. It's just not as enjoyable. I hate to say it, but, it's not because i'd want something bad to happen to the author, but that is really what this books needs to make it interesting. Action. On top of the tragedy in the first book, there was also comedy. There was so much emotion because when you are in the midst of bad times ironically you do all that you can to make light of the situation. That gave the book so much variety. Persepolis 2 is below par with Persepolis 1.

Like the novel preceding it, Persepolis 2 combines stark, evocative art with powerful storytelling. Unlike its predecessor, however, the story is one of adolescence rather than childhood, and Marji grows from a spunky child into a searching, rebellious, and sharply intelligent teenager. Her parents, concerned about her welfare amid the turmoil plaguing Iran, send her away to school in Austria. There, she meets a group of punks and wins them over instantly with stories of the war. Free from the watchful eye of the Guardians of the Revolution, Iran's moral police, she experiments with sex, drugs, and "revolutionary anarchist parties," an exploration that ultimately leaves her in a miserable state and yearning for home. Upon her return, she must cope with the changes that have deeply shaken both her country and herself during her absence.

The cheeky humor that peppers Marji's childhood perceptions matures into a cutting wit of which she makes frequent use in pointing out the hypocrisies of both the fundamentalist regime and the radical posturing of her European friends. When members of the religious police chide her for running in public, saying that her movements are "obscene," she loudly replies, "Well, then don't at my ass!" One has to admit that she has a point. Although the story of Marji's return unfolds against the backdrop of constant tragedy, the novel's humor does not seem out of place. In one of the book's most memorable scenes, Marji goes to visit a childhood friend who has been maimed in the war with Iraq. At first, the scene is uncomfortable, as she tries to hide her pity, but the wounded friend breaks the awkwardness with a darkly hilarious joke about the war. "That day," says Marji, "I learned something essential: we can only feel sorry for ourselves when our misfortunes are supportable...once this limit is crossed, the only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it."

Persepolis 2 is as unforgettable as the original Persepolis, and stands as a coming of age memoir that is both uniquely Iranian and movingly universal.

I read 'Persepolis' and 'Persepolis 2', and thoroughly enjoyed both. After living in Uzbekistan for two years, a nation with a similar history and culture as Iran's, I became fascinated with the role of women in Muslim society. As a man, I didn't have many opportunities to understand this world, and it was this curiosity that made me want to read
Ms. Satrapi's graphic novels. Both novels were funny, touching, and poignant.

I just finished reading Persepolis part 2 (immediately after Persepolis). I absolutely loved both, At times I forgot I was reading a comic strip style book. I just love the writer and her humor and I got a real sense of what Iran was like during the years after the war for young people who were the same age as me at the time.

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.

Marjane Satrapi is reminescent of Marcel Marceau, the famous French mime, able to tell incredible stories visually by touching our hearts through our eyes.
Wonderful!

This book continues where Persepolis left off with Marjane returning home from Austria to attend college. She's returning home to witness the aftermath of the war. The novel wasn't as good as the firs for it focuses on her college relationship with her boyfriend, and basically has a lot of boring parts to it. But, it's a decent followup

I thoroughly enjoyed "Persepolis". "Persepolis 2" is a bit more difficult to love since it is not based on the perceptions of a child. However, it is also quite good and is worth your time to read about this young woman who feels hated in the West since she is Iranian (presumed terrorist/extremist) and is hassled in Iran for being too Western.

I was pleased to find that Amazon has prepared a site for the movie edition of the book, due to come out this fall. A little research told me that, indeed, there is a movie due to be released - by Sony - and done in the same comic book style as the the book, according to the stills I found. I'll be there. It will be interesting to see the reaction to it by the government of Iran.

I give "Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return" a grade of B+.

This book is about Marjane Satrapi's years in Europe when she went to school. It focuses on her social problems and addictions before she returned to Iran. In Iran she continues to rebel against the strict religious laws of the extremist government but she is far from a perfect citizen.

I liked the first book better for the somewhat silly reason that Marjane was a child then; and with that, there is more innocence and you are not forced to confront Marjane as a flawed character (not that Marjane is a villain, she's just grows up with some problems).

It is not necessary to read the second book; but it can give you another look at the daily life of an Iranian in and out of Iran - the social effects of growing up with out parental guidance, dealing with a home nation in crumbling condition, and the angst of growing into an adult.

Ms. Satrapi was about eight years old when the Islamic revolutionaries took over the government in 1979 in her native country of Iran (she now lives in Paris). In these books (Persepolis and Persepolis 2 - Persepolis is an ancient name for Iran) she tells the story of the revolution as she saw it -- her Communist parents were highly involved in anti-Shah protests -- and what happened afterwards. When she was 14, the situation had become so dangerous in Tehran, her home, that her parents sent her to Vienna, thinking she'd be under the care of a close friend of the mother's who had emigrated earlier. The friend instead dumped Marjean, who spoke only Iranian/Arabic/Persian and French, at a Catholic boarding house, from which she was soon evicted.

Satrapi eventually took up with a group of friends who had similar breaks in their families and eventually entered the artistic/bohemian world, always with a strong interest in politics born by the events she witnessed in her childhood.

There is so much of interest in these two volumes -- which are in the new, fashionable, comic-book format -- I hardly know where to begin. They definitely provide information about Iran that never reached the US. For example, there is no mention of the US diplomats who were taken hostage -- as I recall, the news led us to believe the Iranian people were obsessed with them. Instead she tells a story of how "the new boss is the same as the old boss" - to the point that the revolutionaries' chief torturer is the same man who held that position under the Shah. Nor is there even a mention of the Ayatollah Khomeni.

At the same time we see the intense meaning that family has for the Iranian people. Overall, the books are revelations and quick reads, set in chapter/short-story format. As for the comic-book format, Satrapi is a terrific illustrator and some of her drawings convey her feelings more powerfully than any words could.

very interesting description of own life-story ..keeps you interested in what will happen next ..This is exactly what i had expected after reading perspolis-1.

In this volume of Marjane Satrapi's graphic autobiography, she describes 10 years of her life from her youth as an immigrant in Austria to her return to her homeland, Iran, and finally her decision to leave again. While labeled as a "young adult" book, its references to pretty mature subjects lift it to another level - the volume includes references to drug use, premarital sex, gays, infidelity, homelessness, a suicide attempt and various other experiences that make it more appropriate for mature readers, which is not to say that many young adults wouldn't surely identify with much that Marjane goes through.

The years covered by this part of her story, 1984-1994, saw Iran's war with Iraq and the bombing of Tehran, followed by years of "peace" under the Islamic Revolutionary government, while the Gulf War heated up after the invasion of Kuwait. Politics find their way into her story, as well as the repressive measures of the regime that suppressed dissent and robbed women of personal liberties they had known before the revolution. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she tries a number of ways to find an identity first as an Iranian woman in Europe, then settling for a more conventional life in Iran, marrying a fellow student to avoid the governmental and social strictures circumscribing their lives as lovers. In the end, she chooses divorce and a return to a world outside Iran where she can be free to experience a fuller life. Like the first volume, her story is a mixture of sorrows and humor, told in a compelling way.

All of the Marjane Satrapi books, illustrated in drawings, are an excellent view of Iran as it changed with the times and its leaders. This one especially, gives a very special look into the feelings of a somewhat troubled young person. The setting and basis for Marjane's problems is rooted in her life in Iran, but as you read, you see a maturing youth experiencing great discontent with her life. She feels like a misfit. She leans toward anyone who will be her friend. She makes poor choices. She is characteristic of many young people around the world. I would love to see this book used in highschool literature, history, and psych classes, but blunt language and social indulgences with illustrations probably make it unfit. Again, a fast read. Paragraphs of description found in other books are missing; drawings take their place.

My bestfriend gave me Persepolis as a birthday gift and told me that it was one of her favorite college required readings. Once I started reading the first one I couldn't but it down and was sad when I was done. Thankfully there was another to follow. As with the first, as soon as I started to read this book I couldn't put it down. This book is like nothing I have ever read befor. Not only did I get to read about anothers life but I learned a great deal about other countries, cultures and their struggles. This book, the first one, and Embroideries also by Satrapi are wonderful.

Continuing around where the first book left off, Persepolis 2 covers the author from her early teens to adulthood.

The tone of the second book shifts from the first book in that the character seems to be muich more deliberate with her choices. In the first book she was a wide eyed child trying to find her place in the world, in the second, she has become quite aware of how people see her and her circumstances and is at times resentful and rebellious. In the first book you seem to have so much hope for young Marjorie yet you feel the detachement from reality. But in the second it is much easier to relate to the character, however as a reader I felt frustrated by the limitations and binds placed on her.

In most of the second book Marjorie is not actually living in Iran. She is living independently in Austria, bouncing from home to home, all the while trying to find herself. She then returns the Iran however at this point it is even harder becasue she has become detatched from the culture. She has become someone who doesn't really identify with either culture she has lived in, which I think is a very interesting perspective.

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, by Marjane Satrapi, is Satrapi's second installment of her graphic novel autobiography. After reading it (can the experience of a graphic novel be adequately described as "reading"?), I felt that it was an important and vital addition to the first Persepolis installment. In Persepolis 2, Satrapi is sent to Austria for an Ayatollah-free education. She meets people unlike herself, and unlike the other Iranians she knew. She thought she was a free-thinking liberal, but that was in the context of Iranian culture, not European.

I think this book needs to be read after Persepolis 1. There is a boxed set, and the novels should be circulated together.

The detail in 2 is much greater than in 1. I would guess this is related to the richer memories of adolescence and adulthood. Satrapi is very open and blunt about her vulnerabilities and transgressions.

I feel that I need to read a Persepolis 3. That is not a bad result for any author!

This book was great! I found myself laughing sometimes as well as intrigued. This is a kind of book that once you start reading it, you can't put it back down. If you read and liked Persepolis 1, you'll like this one.

This time, the scenes are drawn from her teen years through young adulthoood. Some of the moments should be familiar to anyone - like that pre-adult growth spurt where all the parts seem to be in the wrong places. Other themes will sound familiar, though not in such literal ways. For example, Satrapi describes living in peaceful Europe, herself a daughter of war; at the same time, she describes holding western views about freedom in a country where a pair of red socks is grounds for adminstrative discipline. That sense of being an alien everywhere will ring true for many readers, whether or not their reasons are as overwhelming as hers.

Satrapi describes many other things, too. There's her sense of national pride, the kind that never escalates to chauvinist jingoism, but never fails even when her nation fails her. There are her many attempts at trying to live the role assigned to a woman, whether defined by secular or fundamentalist standards. Under it all, there's the rock-solid foundation of her family, and especially the her father's unfailing support.

I like illustrated story-telling a lot, and that's one reason I was attracted the Persepolis books in the first place. If anything, the illustration normally matters more to me. Satrapi's pictorial style is crude and graphic, though, not the kind I'm usually drawn to. I was surprised at finding her story grab and hold me anyway, even though I know I haven't understood the full meaning of her story as a woman, expat, patriot, or artist. If anything, some readers will get much more from her story than I did.

I recommend this very highly. Maybe it won't be for you. Maybe it will, even if you didn't think so at first.

//wiredweird

Bravo. A wonderful seamless melding of history, memoir, fiction, and visual art. I was skeptical about the ability of the graphic novel to communicate, but what better way than a visual illustration to show how uncomfortable and dehumanizing is the hooded scarf. The main character (fictionalized author/first person) is lovable: full of faults, sometimes wavering in whether she should conform with the others (the easier path), but ultimately true to herself, as her wise grandmother advises her to be. What a wonderful family she has, her parents really let her be herself, regardless of the impossible oppressive social environment that is the Iran of the 1970s and 1980s. This story is a testament to how a family cannot just bow to the status quo, but has the power to influence their only child, a daughter, to stand up to political oppression, even if it means self-exile. Again, not only is this a wonderful story of a family, but on a parallel level, is an excellent history of Iran the nation, the conflicts in the Middle East, and the ambivalent aftermath of colonialism and centuries of war and conquest. I am looking forward to the translation of Persepolis 3 (my French will never improve fast enough to read it in the original).

Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Pantheon, 2004)

Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis took the world by storm a few years ago, first in its native French, then in English. Of course, since the graphic autobiography ("graphic" in terms of "graphic novel," not as in 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed) stops when Satrapi is fourteen, you know there has to be more.

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return takes us through Satrapi's adolescence-- her years in Europe, then, as the title promises, a return to Iran during her eighteenth year after a cascade of nasty events (some her fault, some not) that leave her homeless and ill.

Where Persepolis is good, its sequel plays on the first book's strengths while more successfully integrating the overarching issues of the never-ending wars in which Iran finds itself. When Satrapi discusses the regime's reasons for using the veils in the book's most important panels, it doesn't seem intrusive at all, despite stopping the action (briefly) and having no use other than imparting sociopolitical values. It's a very rare thing when that works.

Persepolis is good stuff; Persepolis 2 is even better. *** ½

a perfect follow-up to persepolis. i could not put the book down! you have to read it!

Marjane Satrapi has an interesting life story to tell, and she does it very well here in the under-appreciated graphic strip format. Satrapi was born to a progressive family in Iran, and when she was a teenager during Iran's Islamic Revolution, her parents sent her off to school in Europe, where there were certainly better life choices for a young woman. Here Satrapi illustrates her travails in Europe as a foreigner from an unpopular country, followed by her return to Iran where she was then treated with suspicion for having too many free thoughts and Western tendencies. Satrapi's, artistic style is simplistic and pretty understated technically, though she is excellent at capturing facial expressions, and her style is perfectly suited for focusing the reader's attention on the story. The narrative here does slip into moping and melodrama in places, though Satrapi's coverage of how a free-thinking young person can be oppressed by culture, religion, war, and prejudice is stirring and evocative. Unlike many memoirs from boring people with typical lives, Satrapi's story is very unique and deserves to be told. [~doomsdayer520~]

Persepolis 2 is not as compelling as Satrapi's first memoir, which doesn't change the fact that it is a very, very good graphic novel. The artwork is outstanding and the story flows quite well. The glimpse the book gives of Iran, and of an individual life trapped between two worlds, is invaluable.

I've read Maus, the graphic novel describing the holocaust as experienced by the author's parents, now living in Queens, NY. Reading the two volumes of Persepolis reminded me somewhat of Maus.

There are very touching moments, expressed in minimalistic graphics, and few or no words, that convey so much, about intimate relationships and family life.

In Maus, the single frame of the father taking his son's coat out of the metalwire coat hanger and putting it instead on a wood hanger, and saying that he doesn't put his son's coat on a wire hanger, but deservedly on a wood hanger, was so meaningfull, and beautifully expressed.

In Persepolis, the happy couple that just got news of their successfull admittance to the state university and loking for a place to hug and embrace each other, well, because they are not married, such affection cannot be done in public, thus, without speaking, they jump into a car and drive off, looking for seclusion, and while driving, a hand is on the gear switch handle, and the other person's hand is on top of that hand. No words. Yet, beautifully conveying the message.

And moments of utter sadness and death, so difficult to say, yet they are said, with no dialogue, yet, so effective. The scene of the party, stormed in by the revolutionary guards enforcing the morality code, are chasing a black & white silouette on the rooftops, under a white crescent moon. The silouette is shown to jump from one roof to another. Then it is shown to fall between two buildings. Death of a friend. All said with no words, just a few minimalistic black & white frames of silouettes, building rooftops, a crescent moon.

The author has experienced great contrasts. And the medium she chooses, black and white graphics, is a perfect choice. There are several scenes in which the opposites are placed one next to the other: "the way I am" next to "the way he sees me". Or "the way I wanna be", "the way the morality code wants me to be". At a moment while reading, and thinking about the choice of B&W graphics, I thought it would be brilliant if the author then used the reverse image, as in a photographic negative, to display the sense of absurdity.

I hope the author continues on the genre, possibly visiting the iranian community in the Los Angeles area, or raising kids in France, teaching them Farsi, then visiting Iran regularly with the kids, and documenting how her kids interact with the kids raised in Iran. Those five-year-old kids raised in Tehran will spot that something is wrong with the five-year-old kids raised in Paris: "you speak like an eskimo", possibly noting that the Paris-based kids are speaking Farsi that is not at the eloquent and fluidity of the Tehran-based children.

Looking forward for future installments.

This book picks up where Persepolis left off, when Marji's parents send her to Vienna to escape the traditionalist Iranian regime. This sequel is equally as impressive. This deals more with how others, in this case Europeans, identify her as "other." Marji always felt like an "outsider" or a "Third-Worlder" as she had a hard time relating sometimes to her white friends. From being a homeless drug addict for a brief time to finding out one her first loves was gay to becoming an aerobics teacher, Marji definitely goes through more things in her short time than most people do in a lifetime. I was thoroughly impressed with the author's storytelling abilities, which were sad, thought-provoking and comical, which made it hard for me to even put down the book. It was really great to read a book about a Iranian feminist who lives her life the way she wants to live it. I was impressed by this book because the Western media gives the impression that all Muslim women are helpless, when in fact as one read this book, Muslim women are empowered and taking control of their lives.

As the sequel to the critically acclaimed "Persepolis," 'The Return' traces the story of Marjane Satrapi's adolescent years spent wandering Vienna in hopes of beginning a new life in Europe before making her way back to Iran following a series of personal hardships.

Having found her time in Austria to be plagued by instability and lack of direction, Satrapi can no longer handle her lonely, miserable life and decides to go home to her loving family in Tehran. With the revolution having made steady headway since her departure for Europe, Marji finds a changed homeland that frustrates her even more with its ignorant laws based on religious decrees. Having lived for four years in a liberal democracy where civil liberties were expected and demanded by its citizenry, Satrapi has serious questions to ask herself about her future in a nation where an independent woman's identity and aspirations are "crushed by a government and a country's traditions."

I was certainly glad to see that this sequel's quality was up to par with that of its predecessor, and doubt that anyone who has already read "Persepolis" will be able to resist themselves from finding out how this wonderful story continues.

Satrapis first book found her as a young girl caught up in revolutionary Iran. She watches as her mother is stripped of a job and forced to donn religious idicoy to go about outside. It ends with her going to Europe. Now we learn what Europe had in stall for her, namely drugs, homosexuality(not her), sex, dating, liberalism, all those things that Iran was stripped of. So we follow her back to Iran, back to enforced Relgiouns clothing, back to a society created by the Left, a society where women are unequal, where religious fascism is the staple and where her ever reverent comic style can be once again put to good use to educate and enthrall the audience about the evils of Religiousity forced upon society.

What we see here is something more however, read between the lines this book says something deeper, namely that the same problems that enslave Iran, enslave Europe. In Europe young women turn to prostitution, drug use and sexually explicit clothing as a way to enslave themselves to modern society and men who have no honor. In Iran the smae enslavement is forced upon women by the government, in reverse order, the men are immoral, and women are closeted in Purdah. We see here the irony. In the free society(Europe) women throw away their earned freedoms in search of fulfilling mens sexual needs and their own psychiatric self hate. In Iran women were forced to throw away their freedom by a liberally supported Islamic revolution.

Which is better? We are not left with a clear answer, however the obvious one is that in a none religious society people may choose their own path, rather then have their clothing mandated by the government. This is a riveting account and a deep person will come to understand the choice facing the world and the choice facing the west in particular.

Seth J. Frantzman

This story of survival, resiliency, and hope is honest and humourous. The book also deals with hard choices-will she stay in Iran with her family, or return to the West where there is more personal freedom? The author captures the awkwardness and soul searching of the teen and early adulthood years. I highly recommend this book.

I was enthusiastic about reading this sequel to Persepolis because I enjoyed the first volume so much. Satrapi uses a simple (but not simplistic) black and white style that is quite expressive as she tells the story of her life after returning to her home in post-Revolution Iran from schools in Europe. The book details the difficulties she faced as a woman and as a citizen, and continues through her marriage.

Enlightening and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Sent to Austria in 1984 at the age of 14, to escape the repression of fundamentalist Islamic revolution in Iran, Marjane Satrapi creates a graphic novella of her misadventures .

The tone of the work in Persepolis 2 is often humorous, but the subject matter is serious. Graphics and text layer the novel with innuendo, understatement, and irony--powerful strategies to enter difficult, confrontational situations.

This interplay between graphics and text blocks also allows the author to explore ways that illusion or dream world differ from external reality. The universal themes of coming-of-age in an imperfect world, or of returning "home" after living away are especially powerful here. The narrator invites the reader to share intimate details of her life as she moves from teenage years of minimal rules and zero supervision back to a society where women are veiled and culture is censored.

Highly recommended--along with volume 1: Persepolis-- for High School reading lists, and for anyone wanting an excellent window into another culture and way of life.

If you haven't read the first Persepolis, you will not fully understand Marjane's story. And if you have read the first book and have not read this one, you really ought to get your hands on it.

The book is in a comic book format, like the first, but this only conveys the author's story even more than if she had just written in a traditional novel format. Her simple drawings are elegant and convey so much emotion. We finally get to see what path Marjane's life goes down when fleeing Iran in the 1980's and her return back. The story itself is amazing. The art work only makes it more intriquing.