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The best-selling author of Persepolis comes up with another fascinating novel Embroideries. The story of this book is set at a post-dinner tea party that brings into the limelight all the beloved characters from her previous best-seller novel. The story revolves around seven Iranian ladies from Satrapi`s life including her tough-talking grandmother, her stylish and eccentric aunt, her quiet mother, and their friends and neighbors. All of them have come together for an afternoon of tea-drinking and gossip.
As is expected from a group of women, the conversation soon turns to arranged marriages, faked virginity, vagaries of men, annoying mother-in-law, sex, love, child birth, bedroom secrets, and cheating husbands. This conversation sheds light on life in Iran as never seen before. With the passing of the afternoon, each of the present woman shares her personal secrets about a variety of things.
The topics being discussed by all of these colorful women range from how to escape the husband your parents choose for you, how to fake virginity, how to benefit from being someone`s mistress, to enjoying the benefits of plastic surgery. Some of these stories and conversations are revealing and hilarious. However, on the other hand, the reader gets to witness some tearful tales that include stories of betrayal, unsuccessful marriages, regret – all of which are told with a heavy heart. There are stories of women being forced to marry for all the wrong reasons. And these stories expose a patriarchal culture where the man has been given all the power to feel above a woman and thereby causing suffering for the women involved.
The conversations going around the tea table inform the reader about the extent to which some women can and will go to find their man or to keep their man. The reader gets lots of surprises as these women present an introduction to their private lives emphasizing the fact that women all around the world have so much in common. Satrapi’s novel presents an intimate view of Iran’s sexual politics. She brings together vibrant women and presents a perfect tale of what happens when such women get together to discuss their innermost secrets.
Wit can be seen throughout the book and Satrapi’s highly stylized drawings add to its beauty. She has the power of rendering expressions with bold strokes.ISBN - 9780224087407
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Pages : 144
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