Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
A New York Times Notable BookA Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year”
A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s 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 and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. 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 reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with 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.
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Satrapi's autobiography is a timely and timeless story of a young girl's life under the Islamic Revolution. Descended from the last Emperor of Iran, Satrapi is nine when fundamentalist rebels overthrow the Shah. While Satrapi's radical parents and their community initially welcome the ouster, they soon learn a new brand of totalitarianism is taking over. Satrapi's art is minimal and stark yet often charming and humorous as it depicts the madness around her. She idolizes those who were imprisoned by the Shah, fascinated by their tales of torture, and bonds with her Uncle Anoosh, only to see the new regime imprison and eventually kill him. Thanks to the Iran-Iraq war, neighbors' homes are bombed, playmates are killed and parties are forbidden. Satrapi's parents, who once lived in luxury despite their politics, struggle to educate their daughter. Her father briefly considers fleeing to America, only to realize the price would be too great. "I can become a taxi driver and you a cleaning lady?" he asks his wife. Iron Maiden, Nikes and Michael Jackson become precious symbols of freedom, and eventually Satrapi's rebellious streak puts her in danger, as even educated women are threatened with beatings for improper attire. Despite the grimness, Satrapi never lapses into sensationalism or sentimentality. Skillfully presenting a child's view of war and her own shifting ideals, she also shows quotidian life in Tehran and her family's pride and love for their country despite the tumultuous times. Powerfully understated, this work joins other memoirs-Spiegelman's Maus and Sacco's Safe Area Goradze-that use comics to make the unthinkable familiar.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Marji tells of her life in Iran from the age of 10, when the Islamic revolution of 1979 reintroduced a religious state, through the age of 14 when the Iran-Iraq war forced her parents to send her to Europe for safety. This story, told in graphic format with simple, but expressive, black-and-white illustrations, combines the normal rebelliousness of an intelligent adolescent with the horrors of war and totalitarianism. Marji's parents, especially her freethinking mother, modeled a strong belief in freedom and equality, while her French education gave her a strong faith in God. Her Marxist-inclined family initially favored the overthrow of the Shah, but soon realized that the new regime was more restrictive and unfair than the last. The girl's independence, which made her parents both proud and fearful, caused them to send her to Austria. With bold lines and deceptively uncomplicated scenes, Satrapi conveys her story. From it, teens will learn much of the history of this important area and will identify with young Marji and her friends. This is a graphic novel of immense power and importance for Westerners of all ages. It will speak to the same audience as Art Spiegelman's Maus (Pantheon, 1993).
Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Satrapi's great-grandfather was Iran's last emperor, the one overthrown by the father of the shah overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution. Doubtless their pedigree of former greatness somewhat shielded her leftist family from the Ayatollah Khomeini's authoritarian regime, and her extraordinary autobiography in comics, which reflects her perspective from ages 10 to 14, probably understates the violence that swirled around her, cresting in the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war. At first, the revolution freed an uncle who idolized her and some of her parents' friends from prison, but soon the tide turned, and the former prisoners had to flee (at least one was killed before he could). Her father and uncle explained modern Iran's past to her, all but dispelling her childish religiosity, and she joined her parents at political demonstrations. When an Iraqi missile destroyed Jewish neighbors, however, her parents determined to use their upper-middle-class means to get out. Satrapi's cursive, geometrical drawing style, reminiscent of the great children's author-artist Wanda Gag's, eloquently conveys her ingenuousness and fervor as a child. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Customer Reviews
Persepolis
I have seen many reviews of this graphic autobiography/memoir on various blogs, but it wasn't until I read one that suggested that Persepolis was similar to the Maus books by Art Spiegelman, that I finally decided to check it out from the local library. I read both Maus I and Maus II in college, where they were assigned reading for one of my husband's English Lit classes, and I borrowed them from him. From the moment I started reading them I couldn't put them down. They were both horrifying and entrancing at the same time in their detail of World War II and it's long-term effects on a Jewish father and his relationship with his son.
Persepolis, while not about the Holocaust, is similar in that it is set during the time of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and part of the Iraq - Iran war. Marjane, called Marji, is 10 years old at the beginning of the story. Her family is at first enthusiastic about the changes taking place with the revolution, until they realize that the government is being taken over by fundamentalists who quickly enforce their strict religious rules.
Marji has an innocent enthusiasm for the heroics of her relatives and friends of her parents who have been imprisoned and tortured. She wants to hear all of the gruesome and exciting details about their imprisonment so that she can brag to her friends about what great heroes they are.
Marji and her innocent antics had me laughing at one moment, and then my gaze would shift to the next panel and my heart would sink as I saw images of torture juxtaposed with images of Marji listening to the story with rapt attention.
Marjane Satrapi's account of life under the new regime is compelling, and her dry wit creates a story that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.
I highly recommend this graphic memoir to anyone who is interested in memoirs, war biographies, graphic literature, or stories of how children deal with war. I would also say about Persepolis and Maus I & II, that if you liked one of them then you will like the others as well.
Persepolis: An intriguing look at this period
This book provides an interesting look at a relatively dark and largely misunderstood period of time. Told from an interesting point-of-view - that of a child - and in a unique way - as a graphic novel, this book brings new insight to this time in history.
As the story begins, the young girls are being forced to wear head coverings, yet the young ones do not understand why. As the story progresses, the reader begins to understand the vast difference between what is portrayed in popular media and what actually occurs. The reader also begins to understand that the thoughts and beliefs of the people are not always reflected in their government. The book tells the story of the rebellion of the Iranian people against their government. What makes it more interesting is that the book is told from the perspective of the child of revolutionaries. We see her parents participate in protests, her parents' friends arrested and tortured, the vast class differences that exist in that culture and their real implications on the people who live in that society, and finally, we watch as her parents send her away to receive a better education and "better life" in France.
The other aspect of this book that makes it so intriguing is that it is a graphic novel. The drawings are all black and white two dimensional drawings with short dialogue, much like you would find in a comic book only without the color. These drawings actually help the author treat the violence very clinically. The drawings evoke a lot of emotion and convey a lot of information and feelings without any of the gore or graphic images.
This book would be well suited for a history classroom, especially side-by-side with a true historical text or textbook. Using this book this way helps provide students with multiple perspectives on a series of historical events. It could also be used as a primary source, because the woman writing this book is doing so from her first-hand account of the events.
A word of caution...this book should be used with high school students or older. Younger students may not be mature enough to fully understand the content.
Biased
I read this book, and I was very unimpressed with the amount of opinion Satrapi put out as fact. The story is clearly biased against the Islamic Republic, which is fine, but is overly so. Satrapi never gives explanations on events that are critical to the entire picture. She never gives the reasons for why so many of her family members were harassed, and even killed. From what I read, I understand that her family were communists, and at the time, communists were trying to seize power in the revolution. Many of the groups against the existing government including communists spread havoc, and provoked terrorism, but Satrapi never says these things. She just names who were killed. She claims things like Iran rejected an offer of peace in the Iran-Iraq war from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, but doesn't go on and say that the conditions to that "peace" would devastate the economy.
Besides these faults, I enjoyed some parts of the book. It portrayed many parts of Iranian culture in a bad light, but was written and drawn powerfully. I would say it is propaganda, but I think it is written too well to have been motivated for propaganda.
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