Sign in/joinLanguage: English [ others ]
Over forty million books on members' bookshelves.
Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Persepolis I: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Loading...

Persepolis I: The Story of a Childhood

by Marjane Satrapi

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
3,537101598 (4.22)101
Loading...
won't like will probably not like will probably like will like will love

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (98)  Swedish (1)  Danish (1)  Japanese (1)  All languages (101)
Showing 1-5 of 98 (next | show all)
This memoir in the form of a graphic novel illustrates the story of a childhood lived in pre-and post-revolutionary Iran. The author details her family’s struggles in their new life under the Islamic regime that deposed the Shah. Since this is a graphic novel, the illustrations are one of the most important aspects of its power. Simple, cartoony, even cute black and white illustrations make identification with characters easy, even though these characters are living in a country on the other side of the world. The expressive pictures reveal complicated emotions; perhaps the most effective image is the last one, which shows a mother fainting with grief when she sends her daughter to Austria. The use of irony and humor to relate difficult ideas makes this work appealing to teenagers. This book also conveys important information, especially considering current events, but does so in a way that is accessible to less serious readers. ( )
gkuhns | Jul 8, 2009 |  
this is awesome, saw the film first with subtitles, very amazingly funny and witty, learn things and cool style ( )
purplesue | Jun 28, 2009 |  
Read this in little over a day. Very quick and easy to read, especially after viewing the film which was not in English as the book. It’s such an amazing story that I’m disappointed I didn’t pick up the complete Persepolis instead to continue on reading, but now have to wait.

The story is about a young girl growing up during war and revolution, watching change in Iran during the 70s and 80s.

It was amazing to read and my first graphic novel. Highly recommend to anyone.
blondierocket | Jun 28, 2009 |  
This book was about a girl growing up in a tough world. It was funny, but it was also serious at other times. Nonetheless, this was a good book. ( )
bmoses | Jun 24, 2009 |  
This book takes a while to get into--the story is told from one perspective only--that of Marji, the young female protagonist. The black and white drawings and simple text made it easy to read, yet overall, the book has a dark and dismal feel. The reader must look closely to find any humor or lightness to balance out the seriousness of the subject matter. The book's strengths include the authentic voice of Marji and her childlike way of looking at the strife and discord brought into her life by war and upheaval. The book's weaknesses may be that some readers may be turned off the by black and white format; this book will most likely not appeal to boys; readers in general may not understand or identify with the overlying concept of the Islamic Revolution and resulting war. ( )
mjsimonsen | Jun 22, 2009 |  
Showing 1-5 of 98 (next | show all)
0.046 seconds to build listing
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
To my parents
First words
This is me when I was 10 years old. This was in 1980.
Quotations
EXCEPT FOR MY GRANDMOTHER I WAS OBVIOUSLY THE ONLY ONE WHO BELIEVED IN MYSELF.
IT WAS FUNNY TO SEE HOW MUCH MARX AND GOD LOOKED LIKE EACH OTHER. THOUGH MARX'S HAIR WAS A BIT CURLIER.
TO EACH HIS OWN WAY OF CALMING DOWN.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Persepolis was originally published in 4 volumes. Some later editions, especially in the U.S., combined volumes 1-2 into one work Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood; volumes 3-4 were combined into Persepolis: The Story of a Return. Keep this in mind when combining/separating.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Book description
Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane's child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, through laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

No descriptions found.

The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.

Popular covers

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | 41,229,411 books!