Lauren wrote:

“Throughout the narrative of Persepolis, the reader is always moving forward. The narrative transforms and ages much like Marji does, therefore creating a unique connection between the reader and Marji. There are first hand accounts of acid trips, sexual encounters, and all-out disasters that are privvy to us and not to her parents. Perhaps returning to her homeland imprisioned her more than empowered her, but the ending of Persepolis was like an object at rest. There was a halt to movement, flow, and reason of the novel. All the while this young strong women is testing the limits and finding herself in a culturally mixed up world you would expect a stronger ending to come out of  it. All development was halted, as Marji was sent off again. I’m not expecting a happy ending with butterflies and songs, but a stronger statement could have been made. Yes, this is a memoir, and yes, that makes it inherent to Marji’s own life. But, as we discussed in class last week Marji’s life was defined by her country’s history — and a tumultuous one at that. Marji was such a  turgid teenager living in Austria that I personally expected her return to Iran to be one of political discourse, with power and uprising against what was being done to her country. Never did I expect for her to leave, especially after her parents wanted her back home so badly. This isn’t a narrow-minded rant about feminism or about revolution. It is merely a comment on a narrative, whether it be real or not.”

I had the same reaction when I finished the book. I turned the page expecting to continue reading, but there was no more! I was a bit disappointed. For one thing, I really enjoyed this book and wanted more. But I was also disappointed with the halted ending. I suppose it was poignant, but weakly so. In one way, Marji was leaving Iran for the second time, to begin her journey into adulthood on her own. There were happy tears from the family, and everyone was ready to move into the new phases of their lives: Marji to begin her life as a single adult, her parents to begin their truly “empty nest” phase, and then….grandma’s death. That threw me off. Especially when I turned the page and realized that was the last panel of the book. I wasn’t sure exactly how to take that. The news of grandma’s death and then the last words “Freedom had a price” were very solemn. I wanted to be happy for Marji and her transition into adulthood, but I was too sad and confused! “Freedom had a price.” Does that refer to Marji, paying for her “freedom” from home by losing her grandma, or was that phrase referring to how grandma died, in some act of political retaliation? The latter seems a bit out there, but damnit, the text was vague and I didn’t know how to take it!! Nevertheless, I did really like this novel, regardless of the off-putting ending.