I haven't read a graphic novel in over a decade and these books were a nice way to experience it. I liked the points of view of Marjane and her family which gave me a sense of the attitude of non-fundamentalists in Iran before, during, and after the revolution and the war with Iraq. ( )

My first graphic novel and I must say it took a while getting used to; I would equate the experience with watching a subtitled film. The book details the coming of age story of Marjane Satrapi at the time of the Iranian Revolution. There are universalities to some of her experiences while others are unique to her situation in time and place. Readers can learn and benefit from both perspectives. At the very least, I felt that the author's work served to remind us that we all have a story to tell. ( )

Attracted by the movie, I read the comic version of her memoir growing up in Iran during the revolution. An attractive format for a memoir. ( )

The Story of a Childhood

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi was born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran…but grew up in Tehran. Her comic book illustrations in Persepolis represent her life from about the age of six through the age of fourteen and ends when she leaves to attend school in Austria (where her parents sent her to escape the escalating violence in Iran).

Satrapi’s illustrations and accompanying text examine daily life (through the eyes of a young girl) under a suffocating and restrictive government – first under the Shah, and later under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Satrapi’s parents were non-traditionalists and Westernized, and as such raised a child who was outspoken and not afraid to question things. This personality trait put Satrapi at risk for arrest despite her young age. Her parent’s decision to move her out of Iran to Austria had a huge influence on Satrapi – which is revealed in the sequel to this book: Persepolis 2.

The vivid and sometimes disturbing images in the book reveals an Iranian culture which is largely unexplored…that of the liberal faction which rebelled against a culture of imprisonment and discrimination against women. Although religious, Satrapi’s family was not extremist or fundamentalist and were representative of those who resisted governmental intrusion. They protested against the war and resisted hero worship of martyrs. Many of Satrapi’s family members and friends were imprisoned or executed in the years building up to the revolution.

I cannot say I “enjoyed” this book as it explores some difficult subject matter – but I did find it compelling and informative. Sartrapi’s images are simple, clear and direct. The format of a graphic novel was the perfect medium for a memoir such as this…and I think it made the subject matter that more powerful.

For those readers who are interested in the Islamic Revolution and its impact on the people of Iran, and for those readers who enjoy graphic novels, Persepolis is one which is worth reading.

The Story of a Return

Persepolis 2: The Story of A Return is the sequel to Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood – the graphic memoir of Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi picks up her story with her arrival as a fourteen year old girl in Austria…meant to be a safe haven for her. The year is 1984, and in Iran the violence has escalated during the Isalmic Revolution. While Satrapi’s parents remained in Iran, they sent their only child to Europe for an education and to escape the war and violence occurring in their home country.

Persepolis 2 follows the adolescent Satrapi into adulthood and through the confusing maze of uncovering her identity. She is an immigrant in Austria who feels displaced from her culture. There she struggles to fit in with her peers and hides her identity as an Iranian because of the biases and prejudices against Iranian people. Eventually she finds herself suicidal and homeless at age eighteen, and decides to return to her parent’s home in Iran. Despite her desire to “go home,” she discovers that her assimilation there is complicated by her Western experiences and different view of the world.

Satrapi once again uses graphic art to explore the experience of growing up as an Iranian citizen during the Islamic Revolution. Shocking at times, her art is a powerful exploration of freedom (or the lack of it) and women’s rights under a deeply restrictive and fundamentalist government.

I found Persepolis 2 to be a more vibrant and engaging read (although perhaps by the time I got to the sequel I had gotten so engrossed in Satrapi’s story that my interest was piqued). Satrapi’s look at what it is like to be a woman living in a paternalistic culture is fascinating and disturbing. Her desire to cling to her culture despite the restrictions it imposed is, I think, understandable because her culture was not the government…it was her family – their traditions, their foods, their sense of humor.

Powerful and concise, Persepolis 2 is an important book which will appeal to people interested in individual freedoms vs. government control, and those who want to learn more about women’s rights in fundamentalist cultures.

Highly recommended. ( )

This graphic novel is an autobiography, telling Marjane Satrapi’s coming of age story from the time she is a little girl until she is 24. It begins with her as a young child, at the time of the 1979 Iranian revolution, and thus covers a lot of heavy political and historical ground. At age 14, with Iran engaged in a war with Iraq, Marjane’s parents ship her off to school in Vienna for her protection. In Vienna, Marjane drifts aimlessly, feeling like an outsider no matter what she does. Homesick and missing her family, she later returns to a much-changed, but now war-free, Tehran. However, she finds that her upbringing as an independent thinker is at odds with the traditionalist society. The book ends with her departing for a new life in France. (I suppose there is not much else she could have done for the ending, but I wanted more!). As I’ve already mentioned, the book covers a lot of deep themes, including philosophical, political, and religious issues. I appreciate how candid Satrapi is in her writing, and I enjoyed how she managed to make the story light-hearted and funny at times, even when it had the potential to border on downright depressing. The drawings are pretty basic and cartoonish, but somehow this actual works to make the story more poignant. Satrapi’s fierce, independent streak is refreshing, and I think this book could help a lot of ignorant Americans (I include myself in this category) learn a bit more about a culture that tends to be dismissed by the West. ( )