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Iranian Love Stories
Gila, 26, was at a party when the police showed up. The men were able to get away with bribes, but the women were taken to the station, and anyone who'd been drinking was forced to submit to a virginity test. She never went to another party after that.
Zeinab is 20 and she loves being a woman in Iran. She says that she feels like a queen! And despite all the risks, she confesses that she makes love with her boyfriend because the danger excites her.
Vahid is 26. He was a leader with the Green Movement. Then he watched his friend Neda die right in front of him. Now he keeps his head down, trying to finish his studies.
In a series of vignettes based on clandestine interviews, this award-winning graphic novel explores the politics and love lives of ten young Iranian men and women from diverse backgrounds. The result is an honest portrait of Iranian youth today and a rare glimpse into a society where the sexes are strictly segregated--and Western journalists aren't welcome. Through rare testimonies from across the country, we learn about traditional marriages, the pressures of living under the regime, and how young people escape the police and defy tradition to live their love stories.
Zeinab is 20 and she loves being a woman in Iran. She says that she feels like a queen! And despite all the risks, she confesses that she makes love with her boyfriend because the danger excites her.
Vahid is 26. He was a leader with the Green Movement. Then he watched his friend Neda die right in front of him. Now he keeps his head down, trying to finish his studies.
In a series of vignettes based on clandestine interviews, this award-winning graphic novel explores the politics and love lives of ten young Iranian men and women from diverse backgrounds. The result is an honest portrait of Iranian youth today and a rare glimpse into a society where the sexes are strictly segregated--and Western journalists aren't welcome. Through rare testimonies from across the country, we learn about traditional marriages, the pressures of living under the regime, and how young people escape the police and defy tradition to live their love stories.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published December 14, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
January 29, 2022
This is a depressing book about living in Iran. Like living in any place where religion makes the rules, it is an oppressive and horrifying patriarchy. Both men and women suffer a lot. Sex is forbidden outside marriage. Women then resort to what born-again Christians do - everything but. They give blowjobs and have anal sex in order to remain 'virgins.' The government can do virginity tests at any time, resulting in a lot of women being raped. Rape is quite common because of the reality set up by religion in which any woman who is not 100% beyond reproach is then considered 'dirty.' 'Police' can stop you at any time and pretty much do whatever they want to you.
Men are beaten and forced to pay bribes if caught doing illegal things like drinking alcohol or listening to rock music. Men are forced into marriages they don't want, just like women. Women can be forced to take virginity tests before marriage. Men have mandated military service which has been extended to longer periods.
The only ones not suffering are the mullahs, who make the rules. They fuck prostitutes and claim it is okay because of 'temporary marriage' that they can enact and then annul. The rules they make apply to everyone except them.
The government surveils everyone constantly and is always alert to catch you doing something 'bad.' There is very little privacy and you are literally risking your life by having sexual relations outside of marriage. Everyone lives in constant fear.
It honestly sounds like a fucking nightmare, and it's important to remember this is where all religions pretty much end up when allowed unlimited power. This is why it's important to keep religion out of government.
There's already a lot of move towards the Christian right trying to take control in a lot of spaces right now in the U.S. of A. People have fear of them overturning Roe vs. Wade, then coming for banning all gay marriage and gay adoption etc. On the micro-level they are working hard to get books banned in both school and public libraries, which is scarily effective. They take over the local boards and then just enforce their religious beliefs on everyone else. A lot of anti-Semitism is on the rise, and a lot of book-banning is occurring of books written by Jewish, POC, and LGBTQIA+ authors. Eventually are we going to get to a point where the Holocaust will no longer be taught in schools? The remaining Holocaust survivors are dying out. They banned The Complete Maus in a TN school district, ostensibly because it had a swear in it and a naked mouse in it, but really it is because they are anti-Semites and want to erase history, and although TN is in the news right now, it's happening EVERYWHERE.
Of course, it's not really about religion, it's about control. Controlling other people is the biggest desire of these groups and the people behind them. Religion is simply an effective and emotional and powerful way to get support for totalitarianism.
TL;DR - Read it and weep. Pity Iranians? Never think 'it can't happen here.' Please look at history of other countries, current events in other countries, and then take a look at your own country. I'm not only talking to U.S. citizens here. Do not feel secure and like your country is immune. It's not.
Men are beaten and forced to pay bribes if caught doing illegal things like drinking alcohol or listening to rock music. Men are forced into marriages they don't want, just like women. Women can be forced to take virginity tests before marriage. Men have mandated military service which has been extended to longer periods.
The only ones not suffering are the mullahs, who make the rules. They fuck prostitutes and claim it is okay because of 'temporary marriage' that they can enact and then annul. The rules they make apply to everyone except them.
The government surveils everyone constantly and is always alert to catch you doing something 'bad.' There is very little privacy and you are literally risking your life by having sexual relations outside of marriage. Everyone lives in constant fear.
It honestly sounds like a fucking nightmare, and it's important to remember this is where all religions pretty much end up when allowed unlimited power. This is why it's important to keep religion out of government.
There's already a lot of move towards the Christian right trying to take control in a lot of spaces right now in the U.S. of A. People have fear of them overturning Roe vs. Wade, then coming for banning all gay marriage and gay adoption etc. On the micro-level they are working hard to get books banned in both school and public libraries, which is scarily effective. They take over the local boards and then just enforce their religious beliefs on everyone else. A lot of anti-Semitism is on the rise, and a lot of book-banning is occurring of books written by Jewish, POC, and LGBTQIA+ authors. Eventually are we going to get to a point where the Holocaust will no longer be taught in schools? The remaining Holocaust survivors are dying out. They banned The Complete Maus in a TN school district, ostensibly because it had a swear in it and a naked mouse in it, but really it is because they are anti-Semites and want to erase history, and although TN is in the news right now, it's happening EVERYWHERE.
Of course, it's not really about religion, it's about control. Controlling other people is the biggest desire of these groups and the people behind them. Religion is simply an effective and emotional and powerful way to get support for totalitarianism.
TL;DR - Read it and weep. Pity Iranians? Never think 'it can't happen here.' Please look at history of other countries, current events in other countries, and then take a look at your own country. I'm not only talking to U.S. citizens here. Do not feel secure and like your country is immune. It's not.
July 18, 2023
This book was down right depressing and eye opening for me. I had heard stories and seen documentaries about what it's like to live in Iran but I never thought about what it would be like to not really have a choice in who you get to marry. This book really highlighted how much freedom we have in the United States and that we really take a lot of our freedoms for granite.
To know that women are expected to stay virgins till marriage or get beaten, raped or killed absolutely blew my mind. To know that raping someone is okay over there really breaks my heart. To read that men are beaten or have to pay bribes if they are caught doing anything illegal didn't shock me as much as how the women get treated.
It truly shows that Iran still values men over women.
To know that women are expected to stay virgins till marriage or get beaten, raped or killed absolutely blew my mind. To know that raping someone is okay over there really breaks my heart. To read that men are beaten or have to pay bribes if they are caught doing anything illegal didn't shock me as much as how the women get treated.
It truly shows that Iran still values men over women.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2021
11/30/2021 Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
12/15/2021 It's always so frustrating reading books like this and feeling the shock of recognition turn into a weariness, then a resentment at the fact that people don't think this shit could happen to them, too.
The Iranians certainly didn't think they'd lose their freedom in the late 70s when a coalition of communists and Islamic fundamentalists banded together to throw out the American-backed, corrupt Shah. The fundamentalists quickly turned on and routed the communists, setting up a hardline right-wing regime that was swiftly, if unwittingly, propped up by Iraqi aggression. Decades later and the Iranian fight for civil liberties seems to be on its last legs, the Green Revolution a dying gasp in the face of a brutal authoritarian state that hides behind theology to justify its excesses. The Iranian people are tired, and cowed, and doing whatever they can to survive.
This is the atmosphere that Jane Deuxard, the pseudonym for two journalists who travel through Iran undercover, reports on in the pages of this distressing graphic novel. Everyone they interview is in an extended state of coping: their material needs may be more or less cared for, but their psychological, existential crises almost bleed off the page. From the sincere young revolutionary broken by the death of Neda, the figurehead of the Green Revolution's rebellion, to the gleefully anti-feminist young woman who insists that women are treated much better in Iran than in the West, the stories of these mostly young people makes for traumatizing reading.
Perhaps I feel it more keenly because I lived my adolescence in a country with religious police too, and live now in a country that flirts with authoritarianism on the daily. I understand how tempting it is to have a strong man (or men, and why is it almost always men?) relieve you of the burden of thinking for yourself, especially when confronted with all these people demanding you take accountability for the things you never thought were harmful. But it is never worth it. My fellow Americans, we can't give up our rights just because it's easier to let someone else make the hard choices. Otherwise, well, Iran is a cautionary tale for a reason.
And the fact that I'm spending almost as much of this review ranting about politics than I am actually talking about the book is testament to the raw truth Deuxard presents, in understated prose that lets their interview subjects speak for themselves. They do their best to interview as wide a range of young Iranians as possible, tho the lack of anything non-heteronormative is glaring. Perhaps those interview subjects were impossible to find: I wish the authors would have stated so plainly, were that the case.
Zac Deloupy does amazing work, evoking Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed oeuvre while doing even more with art as metaphor. From the many-headed mother to the depictions of the monstrous police, his illustrations add layers of subtext to the heartbreakingly straightforward confessions of the interviewees.
At the end of this book, I felt sad and mad. The voices were new and the details were different, but it was still so frustrating to hear the same story from Iran that we've heard for decades now, and not know how to help. This, I suppose, is the point of bearing witness, of watching a people's souls wither without choice, to give them our hearts and in return carry their story to others, to save others from a similar fate. It's just so hard to not be disheartened sometimes, and to have to futilely wish for better for everyone. In a perfect world, Deuxard & Deloupy wouldn't have to risk so much to tell these stories, and their subjects wouldn't have these terrible tales to tell.
Iranian Love Stories by Jane Deuxard & Deloupy was published yesterday December 14 2021 by Graphic Mundi and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
12/15/2021 It's always so frustrating reading books like this and feeling the shock of recognition turn into a weariness, then a resentment at the fact that people don't think this shit could happen to them, too.
The Iranians certainly didn't think they'd lose their freedom in the late 70s when a coalition of communists and Islamic fundamentalists banded together to throw out the American-backed, corrupt Shah. The fundamentalists quickly turned on and routed the communists, setting up a hardline right-wing regime that was swiftly, if unwittingly, propped up by Iraqi aggression. Decades later and the Iranian fight for civil liberties seems to be on its last legs, the Green Revolution a dying gasp in the face of a brutal authoritarian state that hides behind theology to justify its excesses. The Iranian people are tired, and cowed, and doing whatever they can to survive.
This is the atmosphere that Jane Deuxard, the pseudonym for two journalists who travel through Iran undercover, reports on in the pages of this distressing graphic novel. Everyone they interview is in an extended state of coping: their material needs may be more or less cared for, but their psychological, existential crises almost bleed off the page. From the sincere young revolutionary broken by the death of Neda, the figurehead of the Green Revolution's rebellion, to the gleefully anti-feminist young woman who insists that women are treated much better in Iran than in the West, the stories of these mostly young people makes for traumatizing reading.
Perhaps I feel it more keenly because I lived my adolescence in a country with religious police too, and live now in a country that flirts with authoritarianism on the daily. I understand how tempting it is to have a strong man (or men, and why is it almost always men?) relieve you of the burden of thinking for yourself, especially when confronted with all these people demanding you take accountability for the things you never thought were harmful. But it is never worth it. My fellow Americans, we can't give up our rights just because it's easier to let someone else make the hard choices. Otherwise, well, Iran is a cautionary tale for a reason.
And the fact that I'm spending almost as much of this review ranting about politics than I am actually talking about the book is testament to the raw truth Deuxard presents, in understated prose that lets their interview subjects speak for themselves. They do their best to interview as wide a range of young Iranians as possible, tho the lack of anything non-heteronormative is glaring. Perhaps those interview subjects were impossible to find: I wish the authors would have stated so plainly, were that the case.
Zac Deloupy does amazing work, evoking Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed oeuvre while doing even more with art as metaphor. From the many-headed mother to the depictions of the monstrous police, his illustrations add layers of subtext to the heartbreakingly straightforward confessions of the interviewees.
At the end of this book, I felt sad and mad. The voices were new and the details were different, but it was still so frustrating to hear the same story from Iran that we've heard for decades now, and not know how to help. This, I suppose, is the point of bearing witness, of watching a people's souls wither without choice, to give them our hearts and in return carry their story to others, to save others from a similar fate. It's just so hard to not be disheartened sometimes, and to have to futilely wish for better for everyone. In a perfect world, Deuxard & Deloupy wouldn't have to risk so much to tell these stories, and their subjects wouldn't have these terrible tales to tell.
Iranian Love Stories by Jane Deuxard & Deloupy was published yesterday December 14 2021 by Graphic Mundi and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
December 31, 2023
surprisingly nuanced
September 16, 2022
As an Iranian, the book delivered stories I’ve heard many times when I am overseas. Navigating modern Iranian society and the regime are tricky, but these authors are bold for their work. I recommend this over Persepolis any day…
January 5, 2023
Absolutely spellbinding, yet so extremely heartbreaking. Makes you wonder about the innateness of human emotions and how different environments can shape the ways we express them.
'Exactly! Here we are not allowed to have experiences.'
'Exactly! Here we are not allowed to have experiences.'
April 2, 2022
These stories are varied and not easy to swallow, from a Western standpoint. But beautifully and honestly told, with gorgeous illustrations to emote in support.
February 11, 2023
A look at people living in Iran during its current extremely restrictive regime. Fascinating and depressing, and evocative of a potential future for other countries in the world.
read-comix
February 17, 2022I knew that Iranians have been repressed, but I never knew the extent of it. Iranian authorities use excessive and lethal force against protesters, torture them in detention, and regularly violate their human rights — they live in constant fear. This book was a great visual of just how much freedom they don’t have; giving us a better understanding of what young people in Iran go through daily.
Iranian women being subjected to hymen examinations, or they go as far as having their hymens reconstructed, before getting married to prove virginity to their suitors.
It makes me feel so helpless to read these stories. And you think that this couldn’t possibly happen here?
Iranian women being subjected to hymen examinations, or they go as far as having their hymens reconstructed, before getting married to prove virginity to their suitors.
It makes me feel so helpless to read these stories. And you think that this couldn’t possibly happen here?
June 26, 2025
It’s an insightful book that uncovers the earnest reality of politics, love, and life in Iran. I would’ve liked it to include the dates of the interviews for context and maybe clarify their transition between each interview, but I still really enjoy the diverse inputs and perspectives from many different Iranians. A must-read.
September 11, 2025
Min første grafiske roman. Sitter igjen med en del refleksjoner og en takknemlighet for å være ung i et demokratisk land hvor jeg som kvinne kan jobbe, tjene penger, velge min egen mann og ikke være redd for å bli arrestert hvis jeg ikke kler meg riktig i offentligheten.
En tankevekker på slutten: «Unge folk har et tøft liv i Iran. De som skjønner det er triste og deprimerte. De lykkelige er dem som er blinde».
Anbefales å ta seg tid om man setter pris på perspektiver fra andre kulturer og samfunn.
En tankevekker på slutten: «Unge folk har et tøft liv i Iran. De som skjønner det er triste og deprimerte. De lykkelige er dem som er blinde».
Anbefales å ta seg tid om man setter pris på perspektiver fra andre kulturer og samfunn.
June 29, 2025
this is really interesting and made me think. hyper religious society that mixes politics and Islam results in serious oppression of the young, especially women. there were several moments where I couldn't help but think about the echos of these problems I see in Christian nationalists in the US.
December 15, 2022
Definitely hits different given the atrocities happening in Iran.
January 2, 2022
I received a free ARC of this graphic novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This graphic novel was an eye opener. I expected stories of young lovers who had to hide from their parents and from the police, but I wasn’t expecting their views of life in Iran. They ran the gamut from those who want out as soon as possible because of the oppression, to those who think women are treated better in Iran than anywhere else in the western world. That opinion came from a woman! The Iranian government censors what their citizens can see and read of the outside world, but by not hearing these alternate viewpoints from some Iranian women, is our information censored, too?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2021
This graphic novel shows what life is like in Iran. A French couple engaged in immersion journalism converses with Iranian men, women, and couples. As the title suggests, the theme of the book is intimate relationships (and marriage, when it - sadly - doesn’t fall into that category,) and the trials of love under an ultra-conservative theocratic regime. The book offers insight into how singles sneak love, how arranged marriages work (or don’t,) and how the bizarre in-law dynamics of arranged marriage are navigated. One also learns about non-amorous elements of Iranian life – i.e. the illicit nature of dog owning, workplace dynamics, etc.
The people Deuxard talked to were overwhelmingly wealthy, educated, and unhappy with the regime. That said, there’s a range of views presented. There were a few who were mostly happy – e.g. one young woman complained about the impossibility of openly dating, but said she was ultimately happy not to live in the West where she would probably have to work and / or take on other responsibilities she was freed of as an Iranian housewife. Additionally, one girl said that a relationship in Europe would offer no thrill because, you know, no one will murder you for smooching your boyfriend in Denmark. There were also many who desperately wanted out of the country, some of whom felt trapped and others who were working toward getting away (there are measures in place to make this difficult for many – e.g. if you have an Iranian degree, you have to pay it off before you’re granted an exit visa.) Some were hopeful that the theocracy would be overthrown, but most were resigned to a tormented life.
As a traveler, I’m fascinated by how people live at various places around the world, and so I found this book intriguing and thought-provoking. However, I can see how those who aren’t interested in such questions might find it a bit dull. It’s essentially documentary-style interviews in graphic novel format. That said, I thought the artist and writer did a good job of conveying mood. If you want to know what life is like in Iran, check it out.
The people Deuxard talked to were overwhelmingly wealthy, educated, and unhappy with the regime. That said, there’s a range of views presented. There were a few who were mostly happy – e.g. one young woman complained about the impossibility of openly dating, but said she was ultimately happy not to live in the West where she would probably have to work and / or take on other responsibilities she was freed of as an Iranian housewife. Additionally, one girl said that a relationship in Europe would offer no thrill because, you know, no one will murder you for smooching your boyfriend in Denmark. There were also many who desperately wanted out of the country, some of whom felt trapped and others who were working toward getting away (there are measures in place to make this difficult for many – e.g. if you have an Iranian degree, you have to pay it off before you’re granted an exit visa.) Some were hopeful that the theocracy would be overthrown, but most were resigned to a tormented life.
As a traveler, I’m fascinated by how people live at various places around the world, and so I found this book intriguing and thought-provoking. However, I can see how those who aren’t interested in such questions might find it a bit dull. It’s essentially documentary-style interviews in graphic novel format. That said, I thought the artist and writer did a good job of conveying mood. If you want to know what life is like in Iran, check it out.
February 23, 2022
First-hand accounts gathered on the sly by visiting journalists from the young people of Iran. All parties were at risk of being found out as the state is under Iron control and police walk the streets looking to catch and detain any one they consider a threat.
It was interesting to see the differing viewpoints of women living within this patriarchal society and repressive regime. We see stories of women who take the risk because they want to be free, women who acknowledge youth and the thrill of having sexual relations before marriage, knowing what happens if they get caught, and those who fear the repercussions but want some semblance of autonomy.
The young men and women who have endured violence but refuse to flee because they love their country, activists living under constant reminder of being imprisoned and the ease with which it could happen again, to the combined hope for a truly progressive and free Iran. They speak of the Arab Spring; the revolution of their parent's time, and their outlook for another movement that could see the shaping of a new government and prosperity for their nation.
What I appreciated the most about this graphic novel is that the representation here, was not just about romantic relationships or expressions, but love of self, family, community, and country. These young people are only looking for ways that they can be a part of change.
It was interesting to see the differing viewpoints of women living within this patriarchal society and repressive regime. We see stories of women who take the risk because they want to be free, women who acknowledge youth and the thrill of having sexual relations before marriage, knowing what happens if they get caught, and those who fear the repercussions but want some semblance of autonomy.
The young men and women who have endured violence but refuse to flee because they love their country, activists living under constant reminder of being imprisoned and the ease with which it could happen again, to the combined hope for a truly progressive and free Iran. They speak of the Arab Spring; the revolution of their parent's time, and their outlook for another movement that could see the shaping of a new government and prosperity for their nation.
What I appreciated the most about this graphic novel is that the representation here, was not just about romantic relationships or expressions, but love of self, family, community, and country. These young people are only looking for ways that they can be a part of change.
August 19, 2021
Welcome to Our World
Through 10 brief non-fiction short form interviews we get 10 different views of life and young love in present day Iran. The actual narrative arcs are neither novel nor surprising, but the little details and the offhand observations begin to accumulate and to fill in the gaps in our understanding.
The authors allow their subjects to speak freely, without offering judgment or argument. The tales, necessarily, are filtered and tailored to suit the medium, but do seem to offer an authentic sense of what life is like in Iran.
Whether you end up being depressed, discouraged, outraged, or bemused is up to the reader, and it's likely you'll cycle through all of those emotions, and more. In any event, though, this struck me as an essential counterbalance, and a way to add some context, to purely political and academic discussions of today's Iran. A challenging and illuminating choice. I didn't "like" it but I'm glad I read it.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Through 10 brief non-fiction short form interviews we get 10 different views of life and young love in present day Iran. The actual narrative arcs are neither novel nor surprising, but the little details and the offhand observations begin to accumulate and to fill in the gaps in our understanding.
The authors allow their subjects to speak freely, without offering judgment or argument. The tales, necessarily, are filtered and tailored to suit the medium, but do seem to offer an authentic sense of what life is like in Iran.
Whether you end up being depressed, discouraged, outraged, or bemused is up to the reader, and it's likely you'll cycle through all of those emotions, and more. In any event, though, this struck me as an essential counterbalance, and a way to add some context, to purely political and academic discussions of today's Iran. A challenging and illuminating choice. I didn't "like" it but I'm glad I read it.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
November 23, 2023
About so much more than love stories - as harrowing as those are under a repressive theocratic regime - this book reminds us how fragile freedom is, and how quickly it can be pulled out from any of us on a society-wide scale.
Bouncing back and forth between examples of the "naive" and the "blind" - those young Iranians who think reform could be possible in their county, and those who have decided to go along with it in a "it's not so bad" kind of way, respectively - the writers show us a wide array of the attitudes and lifestyles that exist in Iran today. All of them find small ways around their country's stultifying legal moralism. None of them are happy or fulfilled, even those who blithely and breezily describe the way they're able to subvert the corrupt economy for their own gain, or declare that, as women, they feel that Iran is a paradise for women, where they don't have to work or worry about a thing like the poor men do. (Yikes.) They all find ways to experience some kind of romance, despite the traditional culture of loveless arranged marriages; they all find ways to engage in sexual activity, underscoring its necessity and naturalness, even while some of them are coarsened by what they resort to.
The art is largely cartoony and impressionistic, and it works best when translating the young Iranians' statements into evocative visual metaphors. In one that recurs, streetlights and things are rendered as all-seeing eyes that follow the populace like sinister balloons. In another, the Ayatollah is seen as a giant, consuming his ant-like citizenry as they flee before him. A third shows a mother watering plants around her beloved son, which grow into the prison bars of her care that trap him. Another depicts an engaged couple who have never had an opportunity to speak frankly before, discovering over the course of a single conversation how much their values conflict; with each sentence they turn older, more haggard, more hidebound and despairing.
All individuals and couples depicted are heterosexual, and presumably cisgender. The authors made clear the danger facing anyone who chose to speak with them about their lives. It's not surprising that LGBTQ+ people chose not to, or that the authors perhaps chose not to share their stories out of an even greater abundance of caution than that which informed their precautions around their straight subjects' identities.
Powerful, frightening, and not terribly hopeful for the people trapped in Iran, which has built a system to keep them from emigrating, to keep them from experiencing the outside world at all. May it serve as a reminder to those of us that still enjoy some measure of freedom to keep working to safeguard it.
Bouncing back and forth between examples of the "naive" and the "blind" - those young Iranians who think reform could be possible in their county, and those who have decided to go along with it in a "it's not so bad" kind of way, respectively - the writers show us a wide array of the attitudes and lifestyles that exist in Iran today. All of them find small ways around their country's stultifying legal moralism. None of them are happy or fulfilled, even those who blithely and breezily describe the way they're able to subvert the corrupt economy for their own gain, or declare that, as women, they feel that Iran is a paradise for women, where they don't have to work or worry about a thing like the poor men do. (Yikes.) They all find ways to experience some kind of romance, despite the traditional culture of loveless arranged marriages; they all find ways to engage in sexual activity, underscoring its necessity and naturalness, even while some of them are coarsened by what they resort to.
The art is largely cartoony and impressionistic, and it works best when translating the young Iranians' statements into evocative visual metaphors. In one that recurs, streetlights and things are rendered as all-seeing eyes that follow the populace like sinister balloons. In another, the Ayatollah is seen as a giant, consuming his ant-like citizenry as they flee before him. A third shows a mother watering plants around her beloved son, which grow into the prison bars of her care that trap him. Another depicts an engaged couple who have never had an opportunity to speak frankly before, discovering over the course of a single conversation how much their values conflict; with each sentence they turn older, more haggard, more hidebound and despairing.
All individuals and couples depicted are heterosexual, and presumably cisgender. The authors made clear the danger facing anyone who chose to speak with them about their lives. It's not surprising that LGBTQ+ people chose not to, or that the authors perhaps chose not to share their stories out of an even greater abundance of caution than that which informed their precautions around their straight subjects' identities.
Powerful, frightening, and not terribly hopeful for the people trapped in Iran, which has built a system to keep them from emigrating, to keep them from experiencing the outside world at all. May it serve as a reminder to those of us that still enjoy some measure of freedom to keep working to safeguard it.
March 1, 2022
What is love like in Iran? In short: it suuuuuucks!
Religious conservatives around the world would looooove to force everyone (not just members of their religion, but allllll people) into a theocracy. Many conservative Christians here in America really are no different even as they look down their noses at other religions, despite their protests to the contrary. When religious doctrine is legislated into law here in America, the supposed “land of the free,” it is hailed as a victory for “family values”, etc. But stories like this show just exactly why theocracies are a bad idea.
1) People are miserable and want to rebel or leave. The slimmer those options are, the more depressed people become.
2) The “poop hole loophole” means that couples are skipping home plate to preserve their “virginity” as their religion demands, and instead skipping to, like… 5th base… Some couples in this book had been together 8 years waiting for their families to approve their marriages… meanwhile… 👉🍩💩 This doesn’t seem good for people… (and this is something conservative Christians do here in America too… so it’s not something that surprises me… although usually it wouldn’t go on for 8 years before people could get married…)
3) Some people go the opposite direction and loooove all the danger, lying, and sneaking around that is involved in having a relationship when your religion/government forbids it.
4) The restrictions and the hypocrisy (e.g. “temporary marriages” for mullahs while everyone else must be chaste until marriage) leads many to abandon their religion altogether.
This book purports to be a diverse portrait of Iranian love lives. Is it really? I know too little about Iranians to say for sure. One can assume that to capture a foreign audience (me) the authors would likely select the more salacious accounts. Whatever the true portrait may be, this selection is intriguing, eye-opening, and a great reminder that even in places that seem very different, we may still see a reflection of our own country.
Religious conservatives around the world would looooove to force everyone (not just members of their religion, but allllll people) into a theocracy. Many conservative Christians here in America really are no different even as they look down their noses at other religions, despite their protests to the contrary. When religious doctrine is legislated into law here in America, the supposed “land of the free,” it is hailed as a victory for “family values”, etc. But stories like this show just exactly why theocracies are a bad idea.
1) People are miserable and want to rebel or leave. The slimmer those options are, the more depressed people become.
2) The “poop hole loophole” means that couples are skipping home plate to preserve their “virginity” as their religion demands, and instead skipping to, like… 5th base… Some couples in this book had been together 8 years waiting for their families to approve their marriages… meanwhile… 👉🍩💩 This doesn’t seem good for people… (and this is something conservative Christians do here in America too… so it’s not something that surprises me… although usually it wouldn’t go on for 8 years before people could get married…)
3) Some people go the opposite direction and loooove all the danger, lying, and sneaking around that is involved in having a relationship when your religion/government forbids it.
4) The restrictions and the hypocrisy (e.g. “temporary marriages” for mullahs while everyone else must be chaste until marriage) leads many to abandon their religion altogether.
This book purports to be a diverse portrait of Iranian love lives. Is it really? I know too little about Iranians to say for sure. One can assume that to capture a foreign audience (me) the authors would likely select the more salacious accounts. Whatever the true portrait may be, this selection is intriguing, eye-opening, and a great reminder that even in places that seem very different, we may still see a reflection of our own country.
September 1, 2023
Iranian Love Stories is a series of interviews with young Iranians about their experiences with sex and romance in an extremely repressive government and society. The expectation is that young people do not meaningfully interact with the opposite sex unless they are meeting prospects for arranged marriages set up by their parents, and that these dates lead to marriages relatively quickly. Meanwhile, many of these young people do not want to marry someone that they do not know, and are meeting people on their own terms and being sexually active while trying to work around the common practice of virginity testing for young women.
The book covers many people with many different experiences and viewpoints; people who feel that the society benefits them, people who feel suffocated, people who like to live dangerously, people who want to stand up for their convictions, people who want to escape. The relationships these people are involved in are very varied, and the book does a good job of showing us a lot of different perspectives from both men and women.
The art style of the book is very striking; the characters and backgrounds are vividly rendered and very engaging to look at. On top of that, the book takes a lot of very big swings with its art, getting creative and wacky in how it interprets what's being discussed in the interviews. For example, one couple who is arguing during their interview is shown aging from young people to elderly people within the few minutes of their argument. A woman who feels harassed by her mother-in-law is shown with the mother-in-law as a spider or a hydra physically menacing her. Cynical, duplicitous, and mercenary priests running the country are shown as Pez dispensers or Monopoly characters. These creative artistic renderings didn't always land for me, but I appreciated the imagination and spirit behind them, and they were at times very effective.
This book is an engrossing read and an impressive achievement, both journalistically and artistically. Definite recommendation from me.
The book covers many people with many different experiences and viewpoints; people who feel that the society benefits them, people who feel suffocated, people who like to live dangerously, people who want to stand up for their convictions, people who want to escape. The relationships these people are involved in are very varied, and the book does a good job of showing us a lot of different perspectives from both men and women.
The art style of the book is very striking; the characters and backgrounds are vividly rendered and very engaging to look at. On top of that, the book takes a lot of very big swings with its art, getting creative and wacky in how it interprets what's being discussed in the interviews. For example, one couple who is arguing during their interview is shown aging from young people to elderly people within the few minutes of their argument. A woman who feels harassed by her mother-in-law is shown with the mother-in-law as a spider or a hydra physically menacing her. Cynical, duplicitous, and mercenary priests running the country are shown as Pez dispensers or Monopoly characters. These creative artistic renderings didn't always land for me, but I appreciated the imagination and spirit behind them, and they were at times very effective.
This book is an engrossing read and an impressive achievement, both journalistically and artistically. Definite recommendation from me.
October 27, 2023
What an eye opening read. Depressing, but informative stories. Iranian Love Stories is a series of interviews conducted in secret with two reporters posing as a married couple. Each story is a different slice of someone else's life and the struggles they go through with romance.
There are people who feel suffocated by the regime they live under, meeting in secret. Some people just give in and marry who their family picks, dealing with the repercussions the best they can. One character likes that there's so much worth put on women and finds it thrilling to meet in secret with her boyfriend, while her best friend tells her she's crazy because everything is stifling and they run the risk with archaic practices like hymen checks should they get married and their future in laws demand proof of virginity.
It's so sad to hear about the past before the regime change when Vahid's parents met and were able to wear western clothes juxtaposed with the day to day life all of the other characters are living under where police can arrest women for smoking, they have checks at stations to make sure that women are completely covered even in sweltering heat. I have so much empathy for the people in this book and hope one day they can see the change they desire.
There are people who feel suffocated by the regime they live under, meeting in secret. Some people just give in and marry who their family picks, dealing with the repercussions the best they can. One character likes that there's so much worth put on women and finds it thrilling to meet in secret with her boyfriend, while her best friend tells her she's crazy because everything is stifling and they run the risk with archaic practices like hymen checks should they get married and their future in laws demand proof of virginity.
It's so sad to hear about the past before the regime change when Vahid's parents met and were able to wear western clothes juxtaposed with the day to day life all of the other characters are living under where police can arrest women for smoking, they have checks at stations to make sure that women are completely covered even in sweltering heat. I have so much empathy for the people in this book and hope one day they can see the change they desire.
October 18, 2023
From the beginning the book made me feel some kind of way. The first concrete thing that made me realize and be able to verbalize what was happening was when the authors described how Saviosh opened up to them, and how that made them continue the project (28). The way they described what “not opening” up was seemed to me to just be stories that were not transgressive in a sellable way. What were they endangering these people for? It felt like the authors wanted to pat themselves on the back for finding ‘surprising’, yet totally predictable–being viewed by the western gaze–stories. As the book progressed, I got intrinsically more uncomfortable. Things made me feel feelings: describing Omid as speaking “perfect English” (61); the authors being detained by the government and continuing the project (70); the authors not speaking Farsi (104), so only being able to engage with people that spoke foreign languages; Saeedeh thanking them for talking to her (99)–this is not an exhaustive list just the first examples that come to mind. Finally, the illustrations are adequate.
December 6, 2022
I am a big believer that what the world needs more than anything is empathy. It is easier said than done, but a big part of that is taking time to better understand each other especially people from different cultures and parts of the world. There are a number of ways to do that and art and a comic like Iranian Love Stories is certainly one.
Iranian Love Stories is more than a piece of art and functions as a piece of investigative journalism as it interviews Iranians about their life and how they handle relationships with the restrictions placed upon them by elders and the government. What is apparent is the conflict that exists between much of the youth and the establishment, and how deflated many of them feel after the results of the crackdown on the Green Movement.
Ultimately though we can see how similar we all are. How citizens are not their government and most are just trying to live their lives the best they can.
Iranian Love Stories is more than a piece of art and functions as a piece of investigative journalism as it interviews Iranians about their life and how they handle relationships with the restrictions placed upon them by elders and the government. What is apparent is the conflict that exists between much of the youth and the establishment, and how deflated many of them feel after the results of the crackdown on the Green Movement.
Ultimately though we can see how similar we all are. How citizens are not their government and most are just trying to live their lives the best they can.
July 30, 2022
I was "temporarily married" to this book late one night. The tales are bound to real-world interactions and then further stressed by an omnipresent religio-governmental eye.
Fortunately the artwork here is more liberated and fanciful.
I had hopes for the segment introduced as "Isfahan Feminism" that it might be more intricate and exceptional in a clandestine fashion. Perhaps I wanted too much. In every land, nothing bids us like the forbidden. Along those lines, I wonder if homosexual friends of mine would scan this book and say "let me tell you another story" whether in Texas or Tehran.
Glancing back through the pages one last time, the artwork really tunnels through the overlying layers of the typical topics of what-is-allowed and what-really-happens. Viva creativity, viva love!
Fortunately the artwork here is more liberated and fanciful.
I had hopes for the segment introduced as "Isfahan Feminism" that it might be more intricate and exceptional in a clandestine fashion. Perhaps I wanted too much. In every land, nothing bids us like the forbidden. Along those lines, I wonder if homosexual friends of mine would scan this book and say "let me tell you another story" whether in Texas or Tehran.
Glancing back through the pages one last time, the artwork really tunnels through the overlying layers of the typical topics of what-is-allowed and what-really-happens. Viva creativity, viva love!
September 30, 2022
This was a beautiful and moving collection of love in Iran.
The authors, writing under a pen name to protect those they interviewed, cover a range of opinions and views on the current Iranian regime. I am ignorant of the history of the topic, but this opened my eyes, and I will be looking deeper into this history.
Each story was brilliantly written and designed, and each showed me the different ways the regime has affected the every day lives of young people. I found Vahid's, Kimia's, and Zeinab's to be the most intriguing, but no story could've been removed without making it worse.
The art (by Deloupy) added perfectly to the mood of each story, and they capture so much emotion in only two dimensions.
This collection will stick with me. I think I'll be recommending a lot.
The authors, writing under a pen name to protect those they interviewed, cover a range of opinions and views on the current Iranian regime. I am ignorant of the history of the topic, but this opened my eyes, and I will be looking deeper into this history.
Each story was brilliantly written and designed, and each showed me the different ways the regime has affected the every day lives of young people. I found Vahid's, Kimia's, and Zeinab's to be the most intriguing, but no story could've been removed without making it worse.
The art (by Deloupy) added perfectly to the mood of each story, and they capture so much emotion in only two dimensions.
This collection will stick with me. I think I'll be recommending a lot.
Read
April 13, 2025Not to constantly go back to Guy Delisle in my writing reviews, but I think Jerusalem and Burma really had an effect on me that i'm trying to chase. This title kind of does that. It's outsiders looking in once again, but the effect of the interviews changes the perspective. I think it's a mix of Jerusalem and Hakim's odyssey, a meet in the middle spot because this isn't someone telling their story from the heart of it, it's very much a dialogue and that's cool! It's heartbreaking as someone in the west to hear this. but it is a really good set of stories that I think graphic novel fans should read. Or memoir fans. or both really. the book is small enough that you can finish it in a day, and then give it back to the library. It's worth that time to expand your mind a little
June 17, 2022
Such an eye-opening book of how horrible dictatorship can rule lives down to the smallest detail. It makes me grateful for the freedom I was born into. The author captured their heartbreak & despair so well.
I love that this couple was able to get into Iran as journalists. And interviewed anyone who was willing to share their experiences & challenges as a couple under a regime that has them prisoners. Some have figured out how to get the system to work for them. And some women have figured out they have it made, that they hold the power over men.
I love reading books that get me thinking deeper & impress on my heart at the same time.
I love that this couple was able to get into Iran as journalists. And interviewed anyone who was willing to share their experiences & challenges as a couple under a regime that has them prisoners. Some have figured out how to get the system to work for them. And some women have figured out they have it made, that they hold the power over men.
I love reading books that get me thinking deeper & impress on my heart at the same time.
April 14, 2022
In a series of vignettes, this graphic novel explores the politics and love lives of Iranian men and women from diverse backgrounds. Jane Deuxard is the pseudonym of a real life couple who used the alias to conduct clandestine interviews. The book presents the interviews in graphic comic style, the text is sparse but touches on issues of lack of freedom, political repression, arranged marriages, secretive dating, and an ultra-conservative theocratic regime. Quick read. Interesting stories.
December 10, 2022
Wow, So sad to think of people living like this. I feel lucky to be able to love and express love without religious control and rules. Makes me grateful for my freedoms and sad for those living in Iran. Kia Kaha to the protesters. I hope Iran can see good change in the near future.
Beautiful images and powerful messages. Brave people including those who went to Iran to gather and share these stories as well as those who were brave enough to speak their truth to the world.
Beautiful images and powerful messages. Brave people including those who went to Iran to gather and share these stories as well as those who were brave enough to speak their truth to the world.
January 4, 2024
A couple travels to Iran from France to observe how dating and love go about amidst the regime. It's curious to see the different perspectives, all the secrets, and how families and young people negotiate love and marriage and if those are different or the same. One part that will stick with me is the young woman saying that women in the west are the oppressed ones because they have to work and aren't cherished and valued like Iranian women.
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