[books] thematic arc: women in Iran
Apr. 5th, 2005 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThis is a review of two books I read concerning the same place, time, and issues, with completely different constructions. The books are Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azir Nafisi.
I have been wanting to write this post for a while. I finished Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return more than a month ago. They were amazing, both artistically and in a narrative sense. Satrapi does a wonderful job of conveying simultaneously the horror and the banality of life under Islamic rule. She captures the details of everyday life in Iran, which together show a disturbing larger picture without a sense of artifice or manipulation. At the same time, whoever would have imagined a memoir in the form of a graphic novel? This makes them very unusual and innovative. Nafisi talks over and over again about the awfulness of the limitations imposed on women in Iran. Satrapi says few things about it, because she's showing us instead. I think it's amazing that she used ancient Persian art in creating her designs. I also felt that her use of pattern repetition or divergence to show sameness or diversity was incredible. If you only read one of the books reviewed in this post, Persepolis is the one you should read.
Especially memorable are Satrapi's anecdotes about her conflicts with the Islamic authority as a young woman (in the second volume). In one, she must pass an ideology test to enter college. The religious official interviewing her asks her many questions about her faith. She says that she does not think veils are necessary - "If God thought women's hair was such a problem, we would be bald" - and that she does not pray. Much to her surprise she passes the test. The religious authority said that she was the only person he interviewed who didn't lie about their religious practices, and he respected her integrity. I liked that.
In another anecdote, Satrapi is running to catch a bus. The Morality Guard yells at her on a bullhorn to stop running. She asks why. They say, "It makes your buttocks move obscenely!" She yells back, "Then stop staring at my ass!!" They are so surprised, they don't arrest her.
I liked these books so much that I decided to finally get off my duff and read Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azir Nafisi. I had randomly seen this book in an airport last year while![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mrpet and I were on route to Jamaica. I didn't buy it, and choose to pick up a copy of Style magazine instead. That was probably a good decision, since the book wasn't really vacation material. It was a slow, thoughtful read.
On the plus side, Nafisi does a good job of weaving her experiences in with the pieces of literature she writes about. Her descriptions of people are also lovely. On the negative side, in my opinion, she's overdramatic, and those who have not read the classics of literature she references may find themselves confused. (I almost put classics in quotes - I didn't have to read a single one of them for my degree in English lit.) Her perspective feels more Westernized. She reacts to the loss of her freedoms with much the same shock and horror we would feel. It's almost overdone. In contrast, Satrapi seems to accept the absurdity of the regime she finds herself under, even while she disagrees with it. She's willing to see the humor, even when it's life and death. I suspect that this could have something to do with Nafisi's American education. It could also relate to the difference in their ages at the time of the revolution. Nafisi is an adult throughout the book, while Satrapi's story starts when she's a small child.
I didn't exactly enjoy Reading Lolita in Tehran, but it gave me a sense of accomplishment, superirity almost, to finish it. More on that in my next post.
One of the things that struck me numerous times while reading these books is that we in America have not lost nearly as many freedoms as we imagine ourselves to have lost. I'm not saying the Patriot Act is okay. But try to imagine for a moment living somewhere where being in public with someone of the opposite sex you're not married to, who isn't a family member, can get you arrested and flogged unless you have enough money for a bribe. Where women must be veiled in all public situations and wearing makeup is illegal. Where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. Where female prisoners scheduled for execution are "married" to their jailors - legal rape to get around the Muslim injunction against killing virgins. Where those who speak out against the government - or even specialize in the wrong area of academic study - simply disappear. Where those who are not Muslim must legally be buried in mass unmarked graves. All in a country where Islam was a minority religion just a generation ago.
I'm not saying Islam is evil. I respect all the world's religions. But the seperation of church and state is one of the best things that ever happened to this country, and fundamentalism scares me a lot.
We're not there yet, but we could be in a few years. Think about it.
I have been wanting to write this post for a while. I finished Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return more than a month ago. They were amazing, both artistically and in a narrative sense. Satrapi does a wonderful job of conveying simultaneously the horror and the banality of life under Islamic rule. She captures the details of everyday life in Iran, which together show a disturbing larger picture without a sense of artifice or manipulation. At the same time, whoever would have imagined a memoir in the form of a graphic novel? This makes them very unusual and innovative. Nafisi talks over and over again about the awfulness of the limitations imposed on women in Iran. Satrapi says few things about it, because she's showing us instead. I think it's amazing that she used ancient Persian art in creating her designs. I also felt that her use of pattern repetition or divergence to show sameness or diversity was incredible. If you only read one of the books reviewed in this post, Persepolis is the one you should read.
Especially memorable are Satrapi's anecdotes about her conflicts with the Islamic authority as a young woman (in the second volume). In one, she must pass an ideology test to enter college. The religious official interviewing her asks her many questions about her faith. She says that she does not think veils are necessary - "If God thought women's hair was such a problem, we would be bald" - and that she does not pray. Much to her surprise she passes the test. The religious authority said that she was the only person he interviewed who didn't lie about their religious practices, and he respected her integrity. I liked that.
In another anecdote, Satrapi is running to catch a bus. The Morality Guard yells at her on a bullhorn to stop running. She asks why. They say, "It makes your buttocks move obscenely!" She yells back, "Then stop staring at my ass!!" They are so surprised, they don't arrest her.
I liked these books so much that I decided to finally get off my duff and read Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azir Nafisi. I had randomly seen this book in an airport last year while
mrpet and I were on route to Jamaica. I didn't buy it, and choose to pick up a copy of Style magazine instead. That was probably a good decision, since the book wasn't really vacation material. It was a slow, thoughtful read. On the plus side, Nafisi does a good job of weaving her experiences in with the pieces of literature she writes about. Her descriptions of people are also lovely. On the negative side, in my opinion, she's overdramatic, and those who have not read the classics of literature she references may find themselves confused. (I almost put classics in quotes - I didn't have to read a single one of them for my degree in English lit.) Her perspective feels more Westernized. She reacts to the loss of her freedoms with much the same shock and horror we would feel. It's almost overdone. In contrast, Satrapi seems to accept the absurdity of the regime she finds herself under, even while she disagrees with it. She's willing to see the humor, even when it's life and death. I suspect that this could have something to do with Nafisi's American education. It could also relate to the difference in their ages at the time of the revolution. Nafisi is an adult throughout the book, while Satrapi's story starts when she's a small child.
I didn't exactly enjoy Reading Lolita in Tehran, but it gave me a sense of accomplishment, superirity almost, to finish it. More on that in my next post.
One of the things that struck me numerous times while reading these books is that we in America have not lost nearly as many freedoms as we imagine ourselves to have lost. I'm not saying the Patriot Act is okay. But try to imagine for a moment living somewhere where being in public with someone of the opposite sex you're not married to, who isn't a family member, can get you arrested and flogged unless you have enough money for a bribe. Where women must be veiled in all public situations and wearing makeup is illegal. Where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. Where female prisoners scheduled for execution are "married" to their jailors - legal rape to get around the Muslim injunction against killing virgins. Where those who speak out against the government - or even specialize in the wrong area of academic study - simply disappear. Where those who are not Muslim must legally be buried in mass unmarked graves. All in a country where Islam was a minority religion just a generation ago.
I'm not saying Islam is evil. I respect all the world's religions. But the seperation of church and state is one of the best things that ever happened to this country, and fundamentalism scares me a lot.
We're not there yet, but we could be in a few years. Think about it.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-06 04:36 pm (UTC)I loved her conversations with god. It made me really think of myself at that age and a little bit of how it feels to lose that comfort.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-06 06:00 pm (UTC)