14
May
2009
Persepolis 1 & 2 by by Marjane Satrapi
Of course, now you can buy these books as The Complete Persepolis, thereby saving about five bucks, but I have them as the picture shows. They are two different books, based on two different parts of the author’s life.
So why have I decided to review them together? I don’t know. Laziness?
Well, yes, but besides that, I think that it’s one of those things where if you read one, you’re gonna read the other.
For one thing, since they’re graphic novels, they’re a fast read. While short on words, each word moves the plot and character development along. And while the pictures make them fun, give the dark subject of the Iranian Revolution an air of childlike whimsy, it’s still the words that matter.
Example: The picture at the bottom of the page is of little girls at recess, throwing their veils on the floor, circa 1980. ”It’s too hot!” exclaims one little girl. Another puts hers on backwards and says, “Oooh! I’m the monster of darkness!” and two little girls *playing* together cry, “Execution in the name of freedom!” as one chokes the other. Words + cartoons=hilarity.
The first book starts out just after the revolution in 1980. Originally Satrapi’s parents embrace it, since the Shah was kind of a douche, so ousting him was pretty sweet. But then the Islamists start hijacking the revolution from the intellectuals (who were a bit of Marxists) and people start dying and getting arrested. Suck. The students in Tehran take over the U.S. embassy and the country goes to war with Iraq.
All of this is told through the half-understanding eyes of a child. She’s obviously bright for her age, but still naive and confused enough that I believe it’s an accurate portrayal as Satrapi’s nine-year-old self. She’s torn between love of country, love of family, and love of pop music.
At the end of the book, Satrapi is an adolescent. For her safety, her parents send her Austria.
The second book is about Satrapi’s teenage years in Europe. She struggles to find herself, as all teenagers must, with the added burden of worrying about her parents still in war-torn Iran.
She goes back to Iran for University. Everything has changed since she was a child. And it’s not just in the words. It’s in the pictures. Every woman outside of the house now has a veil. It makes it hard to tell people apart by the pictures. I can’t imagine how it was for them.
Buy The Complete Persepolis on Amazon
If you like this book/author, you might like:
(my reviews in blue)
In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman
Maus by Art Speiegelman
Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni
Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran by Azadeh Moaveni
Girls of Riyadh by Ajaa Alsanea
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country by Shirin Ebadi
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nifisi
Palestine by Joe Sacco
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices edited by Lila Azam Zanganeh
Other works by Marjane Satrapi:
Monsters are Afraid of the Moon by Jill Davies
Embroideries
Chicken with Plums
