summary
Part 1: The Story of a Childhood
Marjane—Marji for short—is a 10 year-old girl raised in Iran during the revolution by her mother, father, and grandmother. Since she was a little girl, Marji idolized revolutionaries like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara because they fought injustice. Marji also learns the truth about the Shah and they tortured her father’s friends, her uncle, and her grandfather. Her parents share stories with her about her well-educated grandfather who became the king’s prime minister; however, he was tortured to the point of converting to communism and then arrested. He lived the rest of his life in prison enduring torture. Marji goes through a period of being ashamed of her father because he isn’t a hero and her family doesn’t struggle for money so she fabricates stories. Her Uncle Anoosh visits and she listens to the confusing political conversation between her uncle and father; the revolution was leftist, however, the republic is led by religious fundamentalists. Some of Marji’s family members move to the U.S. and Europe to escape the new regime but Marji’s father doesn’t want to leave because he would forfeit his social status.
After the Islamic Republic is formed, several of Marji’s friends are forced to leave Iran. Her Uncle Anoosh who was previously imprisoned and tortured is imprisoned again and executed which causes Marji to lose hope for her country and the war begins. Marji learns from TV that the universities are being closed down by the new regime which crushes Marji’s dreams of exploring science. She grows up to be a sort of rebel celebrating Western culture and Rock-and-Roll. Marji is kicked out of school due to an altercation with one of her teachers. Her parents fear that Iran is no longer safe for Marjane so she moves to Vienna to attend a French school.
Part 2: The Story of a Return
Marjane arrives in Vienna and lives in a boarding house run by nuns. Her roommate Lucia speaks German so they have a difficult time communicating at first. Marjane becomes popular at school after creating offensive drawings of her teachers. As the holiday seasons approach, Marjane feels more out of place than ever since she doesn’t celebrate them. She spends her next break reading and eating pasta from a pot which disgusts the nuns so they insult Marjane and her Iranian heritage. She grows heated and accuses the nuns of being prostitutes before committing to the church. Marjane is kicked out and begins living with her friend Julie who freely discusses her sexual exploitations and so begins her assimilation into Western culture. Her friends begin using drugs but Marji only pretends to use because she feels she is betraying her Iranian heritage otherwise. Julie leaves Vienna so Marji moves temporarily to an apartment with eight homosexual men. Marji begins dating Enrique who later reveals that he’s gay. Soon after, Marji meets Markus and falls in love. She begins selling and taking drugs and becomes even more ashamed of herself. Marji tells Markus she is going to spend her birthday with a friend and later becomes heartbroken when she finds Markus in bed with another woman. Marjane realizes she has nowhere to live and winds up spending two months on the street before she arranges to go back to Iran to live with her parents. When she comes back, she's forced to deal with the destruction of the town and people she once knew and the repercussions of the war that occurred while she was completely removed.
Marjane—Marji for short—is a 10 year-old girl raised in Iran during the revolution by her mother, father, and grandmother. Since she was a little girl, Marji idolized revolutionaries like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara because they fought injustice. Marji also learns the truth about the Shah and they tortured her father’s friends, her uncle, and her grandfather. Her parents share stories with her about her well-educated grandfather who became the king’s prime minister; however, he was tortured to the point of converting to communism and then arrested. He lived the rest of his life in prison enduring torture. Marji goes through a period of being ashamed of her father because he isn’t a hero and her family doesn’t struggle for money so she fabricates stories. Her Uncle Anoosh visits and she listens to the confusing political conversation between her uncle and father; the revolution was leftist, however, the republic is led by religious fundamentalists. Some of Marji’s family members move to the U.S. and Europe to escape the new regime but Marji’s father doesn’t want to leave because he would forfeit his social status.
After the Islamic Republic is formed, several of Marji’s friends are forced to leave Iran. Her Uncle Anoosh who was previously imprisoned and tortured is imprisoned again and executed which causes Marji to lose hope for her country and the war begins. Marji learns from TV that the universities are being closed down by the new regime which crushes Marji’s dreams of exploring science. She grows up to be a sort of rebel celebrating Western culture and Rock-and-Roll. Marji is kicked out of school due to an altercation with one of her teachers. Her parents fear that Iran is no longer safe for Marjane so she moves to Vienna to attend a French school.
Part 2: The Story of a Return
Marjane arrives in Vienna and lives in a boarding house run by nuns. Her roommate Lucia speaks German so they have a difficult time communicating at first. Marjane becomes popular at school after creating offensive drawings of her teachers. As the holiday seasons approach, Marjane feels more out of place than ever since she doesn’t celebrate them. She spends her next break reading and eating pasta from a pot which disgusts the nuns so they insult Marjane and her Iranian heritage. She grows heated and accuses the nuns of being prostitutes before committing to the church. Marjane is kicked out and begins living with her friend Julie who freely discusses her sexual exploitations and so begins her assimilation into Western culture. Her friends begin using drugs but Marji only pretends to use because she feels she is betraying her Iranian heritage otherwise. Julie leaves Vienna so Marji moves temporarily to an apartment with eight homosexual men. Marji begins dating Enrique who later reveals that he’s gay. Soon after, Marji meets Markus and falls in love. She begins selling and taking drugs and becomes even more ashamed of herself. Marji tells Markus she is going to spend her birthday with a friend and later becomes heartbroken when she finds Markus in bed with another woman. Marjane realizes she has nowhere to live and winds up spending two months on the street before she arranges to go back to Iran to live with her parents. When she comes back, she's forced to deal with the destruction of the town and people she once knew and the repercussions of the war that occurred while she was completely removed.