Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

The sequel to Persepolis 1 takes off right where Marjane Satrapi finishes in her first graphic novel. Satrapi is an adolescent off on her own in Europe. The story shows her struggle with growing up and trying to find her identity despite the fact that she lives in a foreign world and, yet, she becomes a part of that world. It is almost as if she has one foot in Europe and another foot in Iran, but belongs to neither society. This is compounded by both societies rejecting some element of her. In Europe, she is looked upon as an "other"- she is Middle Eastern and the only one of her kind around. In Iran, she is looked upon as too liberal and western. Talking about sex openly shocks her friends and leads her to isolation. The author speaks about her inner demons and how she tried to cope, or not really cope, with her identity crisis.

In the end, the reader knows that somehow Satrapi managed to become the independent woman she is today. Unable to stretch to the limit in Iran, she heads back to Europe. Today, she is an author of many books, including children's books, and resides in France. Certainly, this author has taken a creative approach to open up readers to Iran's history and culture.
Apparently, Satrapi has another graphic novel out there called Chicken with Plums. The story is of the last days of her great uncle, who was a renowned musician. As he awaits death, there are flashbacks and flash-forwards of his life.

The Road

After reading many different kinds of books, let us now turn to an award winner- Pulitzer Prize winner that is. The Road, written by accomplished writer Cormac McCarthy, is the story of a man and a boy trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world full of danger and killing. Although there is very little knowledge about the events before and even after the book, the author creates a vivid image of life at the present moment for the two protagonists- a man and his son. They travel this post-apocalyptic world just trying to survive and believing in an almost non-existent goal.
I have been meaning to read this book for a while now, but kept making up excuses not to read the book. I was afraid of the depressing nature of the book. Even though the subject is very grave, I did not necessarily feel utterly depressed reading it because the writing eases the reader. The writing is beautiful and almost dreamlike. It is no wonder that this book received such high acclaim. There are no conventional uses of quotation marks or commas. Perhaps McCarthy chose to write in this matter because it makes the reading continuous and the sentences blur together as the man and boy's days just blur together.
I kept waiting for some major event to happen. In my own head, I think I created my own suspense. The author let's you know all the possibilities of the man and boy's life ending, so these ideas ran through my head continuously. However, I realized that the events did not matter because the book is much more about the human survival. The world is just about the man and the boy- a father's love and fight, a boy's dream and feelings.
As with most successful books, this novel has turned into a movie that is set to be released this year, 2009. I imagine that, for entertainment's sake, the movie will have much more suspenseful scenes. I'm not sure if I'm ready to watch a scary movie (in fact, I hate scary movies). However, McCarthy does have some success already with his books turning into box office movies hit- he is also the author of No Country for Old Men.

And the Twilight Saga Continues- Eclipse

I finished book three in the Twilight series, Eclipse. In my opinion, this is probably the best book so far in the series, but I do foresee major things happening in the fourth and final book. I've said it before- the writing is not profound and sometimes I get so fed up with the protagonist, Bella, because she plays such a damsel in distress. And, the book is overly dramatic. At the same time, I am drawn to know what happens in the end. Will happiness be found? Does love conquer all? Ahhh! It is so frustrating to be engrossed in this series. It's like a drug- I know it's bad, but I have to get my fix.
In this third book, Bella has to decide her true feelings between Edward and Jacob. Which one does she love the most? The reader is brought into her torture to have to decide between the two. Such tough decisions! This is where Bella gets annoying though- why can't the girl just make up her damn mind? But, it wouldn't be a story without the complicated plot and it wouldn't be a romance without the build up.

Apparently, Stephanie Meyer has a new book slated to come out this May. It is called The Host. It is science fiction in the sense that alien invaders have come to Earth to prey on human life. However, it is romance because the human life taken by the host is a girl who refuses to give up control of her mind and constantly thinks about the love of her life. Do I hear another movie deal for this one, or what?

"I Screwed Up"- Obama's Simple Language

In this sentence alone, President Obama showed America two important aspects of his presidency. He shows that he is willing to break from the Bush policy of secret, hidden agendas and refusal to come clean. In addition, Obama makes an attempt to speak in a language that is simple for the American public.

Reporters now say that there is an Obama-style of speech based off of this example and many others. It is an effort to speak plainly to the public so that they understand policies that may be difficult to grasp: case in point- the stimulus package.

In the NPR article "The Art of Language, Obama-Style", Obama is praised as an orator. Researchers of presidential speeches believe that Obama continues to get better with speeches. However, the author notes that he may not be as good as President Clinton when "speaking off the cuff".

Regardless, I think we can all agree that President Obama won't be making up meaningless words anytime soon, such as Bush's "misunderestimated". This 44th president is so much more intelligent to make vocabulary errors.

Persepolis- A Graphic Novel

I read Maus by Art Spiegelman in college and was completely blown away. The story of a person's survival in a Nazi concentration camp told through a graphic novel is brilliant. Going beyond the subject of superheros or sci-fi, graphic novels that are memoirs about politics, history, and the human plight really resonate something within me. Perhaps it relates to the common denominator of image- all people can understand a picture. And, when that image or picture is of people suffering whether it be the Holocaust or the Iranian Revolution, the reader is able to understand the story on a deeper level.

Written by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis is a memoir of a girl from the age of 6 to 14 growing up during the Iranian Revolution and war. All the stories are memories directly from Satrapi's life drawing mostly from family, friends, and school. Through out the book, the Satrapi family has to balance a public and private life because they are forced to obey Islamic law as the revolution takes hold and religious leaders rule by fear. Despite being communists, the Satrapi family has to hide their true beliefs because everyone around them is either taken into custody or, later on, executed for speaking out against the government. Marjane, in addition to trying to find her own identity, has to constantly battle the question of martyrdom. What is a true martyr? Is risking one's life for the freedom of Iran a martyr? Is risking one's life for Islam and an Iran lead by Ayatolla Khomeini a martyr (because this is what was told to young men over the age of 15...riches and young virigin brides awaited them in heaven)?This book has reached great heights and critical acclaim. In fact, you may have seen the title of this book in the movie stores because the graphic novel was turned into an independent film by the same name. I'll have to watch it at some point. Since I hate spoilers, the last thing I'll share is that the author does manage to make the reader yearn for more at the end of the novel. In comes the sequel- Satrapi does have Persepolis 2 written, which focuses on the author's high school and college life as an Iranian woman coming of age.
It would be a dream to be able to teach a modern history class based off of graphic novels. Do you now see the true nerd in me?

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I understand the importance of the first African-American president as a educator of history. However, I do not fully understand it from the perspective of an African-American. I did not grow up in an era of outright segregation and I did not grow up with stories from my elders of living in fear or regret or shame because of the color of my skin. However, Reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou gave me some sense of how far this country has come in regards to equality of races because, amongst many things, this book has a large current that shows the reader how it felt to be an African American and truly struggle with racism in the 1930s and 1940s.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiographic fiction of Maya Angelou's early to middle childhood. It is considered an autobiography because it is based off the author's life, but it is also considered fiction because Maya Angelou writes in such a poetic and lyrical manner. The book has many themes to it: identity, love, coming of age, family, religion, and racism. At the time of its publication, which was in 1969, it was considered a major breakthrough for African-American writers and female writers. People explained it as one of the first African-American feminist books. Intelligently, the author easily conveys a message to the reader by the 3rd page. Angelou writes, "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. it is an unnecessary insult." Angelou's writing is beautiful and utterly honest.

Angelou speaks about so many tormenting ideas. She's never comfortable in her own body or even in her own home as a youth. Part of this is due to living in a broken home. Angelou and her brother, Bailey Jr., live with their grandmother in the South, mother in the Midwest and West, and father in the West all during their childhood. It appears as if she has no solid root. However, the two constants in her life are her brother's love and her love for books. Angelou is said to have fallen in love with Shakespeare as a child. She refers to the many different books she read during her childhood in her autobiography.

The major struggle that Angelou has to come to terms with is her race. Angelou observes how her grandmother is treated while living in the South. And, without further explanation, Angelou understands as a very young child the clear distinction between white and black people. Here's an excerpt of how she felt one day after a white man gave a speech that insinuated the limitations she would have as an adult black female:
"It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense. We should all be dead. I thought I should like to see us all dead, one on top of the other. A pyramid of flesh with the whitefolks on the bottom, as the broad based, then the Indians with their silly tomahawks and teepees and wigwams and treaties, the Negroes with their mops and recipes and cottonsacks and spirtuals sticking out of their mouths."

The autobiography does not go beyond Angelou at age 16. I would like to know how her life unravels into the woman she is- accomplished, famous, and a professor. She has won numerous awards, written many books and poems, and she even spoke at Pres. Clinton's inauguration. I like to think that her one saving grace was love of reading.

*Side Note: One of my favorite poems ever is by Maya Angelou called Phenomenal Woman. I recommend it to all women out there. Print it out and keep it in your closet for those days when you just need to believe in yourself.

Inauguration of President Obama

I had the opportunity to watch Pres. Obama's inauguration speech yesterday while teaching at school. In the Opinion section of the New York Times today, several speech writers, former writers for presidents from Nixon to Clinton, provided their own thoughts on the quality of the inaugural speech. The article is called The Speech: The Experts' Critique.

I guess everyone was looking for Pres. Obama's speech to be THE SPEECH that would coin a new phrase and be embedded into American history. There are so many comparisons of Obama's speech to Kennedy's speech or even FDR's. Is Obama's speech as memorable? For the most part, these experts agree that Obama's speech is solid and good. However, they do not believe that it is a speech to be remembered in history.

Honestly, I don't need a speech to be remembered. I just need a new president who has a world-view and liberal openness. I believe we have found the president to lead us into a new chapter. One part of Obama's speech impresses me far more than others. Here's an excerpt:
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

We may not take a specific sentence from Obama and write it into every US History textbook. Regardless, I'd rather have a component president who's actions speak more than words.