“To speak behind others' backs is the ventilator of the heart.”

A humorous yet eye-opening take on the culture of patriarchy, Embroideries is a comic book about an evening of tea-drinking and gossip among women in Iran in the Satrapi family. The illustrations have women gossiping about lost loves and failed marriages, about faking virginity, plastic surgery and whether it is really important for a woman to actually have a man in her life.



The book shows a charming aspect of Iranian culture where women have one safe place when they get to gossip and completely let go, with no age-boundaries or social bindings to concern over. The books title refers to surgery to reinstate virginity as "the full embroidery". An amusing, yet thought-provoking. quick read for a lazy afternoon.