Author: Marjan Satrapi
Publisher: Pantheon
Pages: 192
Publication date: Aug 2, 2005
ISBN: 9780375714665
Persepolis 2 continues Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic memoir, following her later adolescence and early adulthood as she lives abroad and eventually returns to Iran. Using the same stark black-and-white comic-strip style, the narrative explores her years in Vienna, where distance from home brings both freedom and isolation, and her struggle to rebuild a sense of belonging after going back.
The second volume places greater focus on identity and displacement. Personal relationships, cultural misunderstandings, and moments of independence are set against loneliness and uncertainty, showing the emotional cost of living between worlds. As Marjane grows older, the questions become more internal — who she is, where she fits, and how memory shapes her understanding of home.
Balancing humor with vulnerability, the memoir portrays the challenges of adulthood, migration, and return. More introspective than the first volume, Persepolis 2 deepens the story into a reflection on self-definition, resilience, and the search for personal freedom across different societies and expectations.