Persepolis: The Story of an Iranian Childhood

published	May 22nd 2003 by Jonathan Cape
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0224064401 (isbn13: 9780224064408)
pages	168
literary awards	New York Booker / Alex Awards
description	Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise,...more [close] 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 four volumes. Persepolis on Library Journal's List of Best Books of 2003 & Young Adult Library Services 2004 List of Best Books for Young Adults. 2004 HARVEY WINNER FOR BEST U.S. EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL. [An] extraordinary autobiography....A remarkable, revealing, and sometimes startling account, this is sure to be one of the most important graphic novels of the year. Highly recommended. --Library Journal [close]
date added	05-13-07 edit book

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | more...

discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

groups with this book

view all groups »

friend reviews (0)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 9132)

Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

01/20/08

Read in March, 2004

Cultural relativists as far back as Sextus Empiricus or Michel Montaigne, or as recent as William Graham Sumner or Gilbert Harman, often make compelling arguments that there are no objective standards for judging other societies/beliefs. Yet Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis achieves in 153 pages what cultural relativists deny as possible and what most political pundits can never fully articulate: an informed and justifiable criticism of an existing cultural paradigm. Satrapi's method is deceptively ...more Cultural relativists as far back as Sextus Empiricus or Michel Montaigne, or as recent as William Graham Sumner or Gilbert Harman, often make compelling arguments that there are no objective standards for judging other societies/beliefs. Yet Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis achieves in 153 pages what cultural relativists deny as possible and what most political pundits can never fully articulate: an informed and justifiable criticism of an existing cultural paradigm. Satrapi's method is deceptively simple: by using her own life stories as the premise, Satrapi builds an argument for criticizing culture.
Satrapi's autobiographicalized[1] self and society act both with wisdom and foolishness both before and after the revolution. The Iranian revolution meant to replace an unpopular government with one more responsive to the people's will. Until reading this book, I was unaware of any particular details of Iran during their revolution - mostly because I am a Westerner and generally not privy to accounts of day-to-day life in the Mid-East. On that basis, the cultural relativists may be right that I have no foundation on which to critically analyze the current state of Iran. Thankfully, however, Satrapi can criticize - using both an insider's and outsider's perspective. Satrapi undermines the denial of standards posited by cultural relativists by showing the reader that standards of comparison do indeed exist: standards related to varying degrees of freedom of expression, of decision, and from coercion. Satrapi's criticism is much more subtle than "old way good, new way bad." Instead, she draws for the reader situation after situation where real people are swept along with the flash flood of a revolution. Satrapi, having come of age in the midst of such a flood, is able to compare her pre- and post-revolution home and draw for the reader how the people she knew dealt with that change and what they thought of it.
Satrapi's art maintains a consistent, iconic style throughout the book. This allows the reader to identify more fully with the story's characters and makes for a gripping narrative flow. This iconic style is also important in reaching an audience unaccustomed to graphic novels and the myriad ways in which their authors approach narrative (Art Spiegelman's Maus is a prime example of an iconic style's appeal). What really makes Persepolis an artistic tour-de-force, however, are the more experimental panels that Satrapi intersperses into the basic narrative frame she establishes. These larger, and more visually stunning, panels interrupt the narrative, slowing (in some instances stopping) the reader in his or her tracks, drawing him or her into the intricacies of the panel. This interspersion is a type of reader manipulation especially featured in comix. There are an abundance of examples of this technique in Persepolis - panels 15.2, 29.4 are but a few. Panels 10.5, 11.1, and 11.2, in particular, defy, yet wholly contain, prosaic description, poetic symbolism, dramatic interaction, and cinematic imagery.
Satrapi seems to suggest in this work that the way to bring peoples together is to allow an exchange of their cultural ideas. At times, it may appear that the unrestrained steamroller of Western culture threatens anything in its path. But is that really the case? Satrapi seems to hint that a people left free to first experience, then to choose, whether to accept or reject another culture's offerings are always better off than a people punished for experiencing other cultures. She presents with compassion her life in that earlier Iran and draws it for the reader through the filter of her current life in Western culture. She doesn't champion one culture while condemning another. She shows, through autobiography, what works and doesn't work when it comes to governing groups of human beings.
[1] - This phrase refers to the separation of the author as an entity from the literary self they create for a reader through autobiography. ...less

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

4 comments

Paul rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

06/09/08

bookshelves: graphic-novels

Well, having read the book, I went also to see the film last night. But I will probably not wish to go to see the musical or buy the soundtrack of the musical with specially commissioned songs by Sting and Bono and Madonna and Cher and several other rock stars who only have one name, all their other names having been impounded by customs officials.
I didn't read Persepolis Book Two so was interested that the film incorporates both books. However my joy turned to large bananas which have bee...more Well, having read the book, I went also to see the film last night. But I will probably not wish to go to see the musical or buy the soundtrack of the musical with specially commissioned songs by Sting and Bono and Madonna and Cher and several other rock stars who only have one name, all their other names having been impounded by customs officials.
I didn't read Persepolis Book Two so was interested that the film incorporates both books. However my joy turned to large bananas which have been left too long in the fruit bowl of life and are now blackened and soggy, as I came to realise that the perky sassy girl of Part One grew up to be the miserable pain in the ass shoegazing student of Part Two. So the movie demonstrated the curious fact that you can have the most exotic of backgrounds (Iran! revolution! fundamentalism! war!) and still be a dullard.
(I should interpose that the visual aspect of the movie is very pretty, and when one has determined that the political content is close to zero, one can transfer one's attention to the exhuberant cartooning without a qualm).
There are two very odd things about this two-book-one-movie : the word AYATOLLAH is never mentioned, not once. As neither is the other word ISLAM. But if I recall correctly, Iran experienced an ISLAMic revolution led by the AYATOLLAH Khomeini. So this is like "My Life in Germany 1930-1940" without mentioning Hitler or the Nazi Party. That's odd! Maybe she'd be on the receiving end of an icepick haircut if she named names, but still. Also odd is the apparent fact that the author's family could send the author out of Iran to Vienna for years at a time - not once, but twice! What implications does this have for our view of the intolerable oppression of the regime?
So in spite of all its trappings, Persepolis in the end is as political and insightful as Shopaholic, i.e. not political and not insightful, and gets away with it because the author can not unreasonably retort that political acumen was quite outside of her purview as she was growing up trying to score Iron Maiden cassettes and trying on lurid shades of lipstick; whence come all the cardboard cutouts which populate the movie, and whence all the unexplained actions and motivations. The dialogue from the adults in her early life is either "the regime tortured your uncle without mercy. He was a communist" or "I put jasmine leaves in my bra every day". It seems Persepolis has gained its popularity from sheer quaintness. I was looking for more....less

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

10 comments

Bookshop rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

07/29/07

bookshelves: biography, comics

Read in January, 2006

They are among the rare books that I give a 5 which means:
a. they will come with me wherever I go
b. I will read them again and again until I remember every single sentence
c. I will not lend them to people :p.

Tita introduced me to these books. I have been very interested on Iran and was even contemplating to read the autobiography of Farah Pahlavi, the Empress of Iran. After repeated visits to the bookshop to flip the pages of this autobiography, I wasn't sure if I wanted to part with m...more

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

3 comments

Corinne rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

06/18/08

bookshelves: graphic-novel, orbis-terrarum-challenge, young-adult-challenge-2008

Read in June, 2008

Marjane spent her growing up years in Iran, the daughter of wealthy-ish middle class parents. Her formative years were during the Iranian Revolution, in which her immediate and extended family took an active part. Politically, it was a time of great unrest and uncertainty and, if her book is any indication, she spent much of her time mulling over the things she sees and hears as an only child.

She's an interesting character - at times naive and idealistic, and, as she grows older, very aware ...more Marjane spent her growing up years in Iran, the daughter of wealthy-ish middle class parents. Her formative years were during the Iranian Revolution, in which her immediate and extended family took an active part. Politically, it was a time of great unrest and uncertainty and, if her book is any indication, she spent much of her time mulling over the things she sees and hears as an only child.

She's an interesting character - at times naive and idealistic, and, as she grows older, very aware of the horrible circumstances that surround her and she almost seems to revel in the horror. She is close to her family but becomes increasingly fed up with how restrictive her society becomes after Iran becomes an Islamic Republic. Oh, and of course, there's the Iran Iraq war - this woman lived through a very unstable time.

I think the main reason that I liked to read her story is because it is so very different from my own story. I had no sense of politics until late high school, at least - perhaps mostly because of the country I live in and partly because my parents didn't seem to actively engage with me in discussions about it, as Marjane's parents did. I can't say that this book changed my life, or that I even got a sense of an overarching theme of "war is bad" or "my childhood stunk." She is not a character that I felt pity for, even as horrible things are happening to her - partly because I didn't get the feeling that she was pitying herself.

The graphic novel format really worked for me - I'm not sure her story would've been quite as interesting without her creative drawings. I think also, it might've been much more "graphic" to have had to read about all the violence instead of just seeing her take on it, which nearly always gave you the sense and idea of the violence without being overly bloody or intense.

As an introduction to modern Iranian history for teens (and grownups) , I think it's fantastic - it puts a face on the masses and she does include background for the events that she experiences or hears about. I think every story we read that makes a group of people seem more familiar and their views more understandable is a story worth telling....less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

f rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

03/29/08

bookshelves: own

Read in March, 2008

I heard of 'Persepolis' amid the recent backdrop of U.S. threats against Iran, and was very impressed by the film. However, i came away feeling that now i didn't have to read the book; that i had probably experienced most of what the book had to offer. Yet, when discussing the film with those who had also read the book, without fail i was told the film is weighted toward's Satrapi's later life in 'Persepolis 2', and that enjoying the film is all the more reason to read 'Persepolis'. So, a fe...more I heard of 'Persepolis' amid the recent backdrop of U.S. threats against Iran, and was very impressed by the film. However, i came away feeling that now i didn't have to read the book; that i had probably experienced most of what the book had to offer. Yet, when discussing the film with those who had also read the book, without fail i was told the film is weighted toward's Satrapi's later life in 'Persepolis 2', and that enjoying the film is all the more reason to read 'Persepolis'. So, a few hours after reading her simple account of U.S. crimes against the Iranian people, and her admonition to forgive but never forget, i did. so i happily pass the good advice on. The book is wonderful.
It's power partly lies in it's deft combination of an adult perspective with a faithful description of both the innocence and pettiness of childhood. It's how i imagine 'To Kill a Mockingbird' would be told amid a revolution. And then there is the art which is so simple and evocative, as if a child drew it, yet is of the highest caliber. In that sense i am reminded of 'Peanuts', except that 'Persepolis' is explicitly and bravely political in a way, to my knowledge, Schultz never dared.
For a U.S. audience, it's one of the simplest ways someone could learn the central role the U.S. played in the rise of authoritarian 'islamic' regimes. The Iranian revolution is one of the high points in the history of international working class struggle. Working people didn't have their own party to act through. The democratic workers'councils (shoras) were eventually manipulated by a stalinised commumnist party, the petit bourgeois, and clerics. Despite appearances by Marx and CP members, none of this is taken up in 'Persepolis', which is a shame because it leaves out the actual potential that existed for a radical progressive reconstruction of society.
Like 'Maus' and Joe Sacco's 'Palestine', 'Persepolis' seems to have greatly widened the audience for graphic novels. This is welcome and well deserved, as some of the finest art & literature being produced today is using that form. I look forward to Satrapi's career and a larger, more politicized reading public. ...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Patrick rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

07/15/08

As a child I had problems pronouncing words. My first attempt at the English language was “Rowl” – I was trying to put my all into saying the name of the store down the street “Red Owl.” Later, my favorite thing to try and read was the Peanuts cartoon by Charles Shultz, although I continually mispronounced Charlie Brown’s “sigh” as “see-gah.” That I had grown up in several different countries, spoke different languages, had dyslexia, and was general pretty stupid, didn’t he...more As a child I had problems pronouncing words. My first attempt at the English language was “Rowl” – I was trying to put my all into saying the name of the store down the street “Red Owl.” Later, my favorite thing to try and read was the Peanuts cartoon by Charles Shultz, although I continually mispronounced Charlie Brown’s “sigh” as “see-gah.” That I had grown up in several different countries, spoke different languages, had dyslexia, and was general pretty stupid, didn’t help the situation any. Yet I still have problems pronouncing words.

When I was talking about Persepolis with a friend, I pronounced it “pair-a-poll-see.” She looked at me kind of funny and politely asked, “you’re reading what?”

“Pairapollsee,” I said. “The graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi.”

“You mean Persepolis,” she said, “it’s the ancient capital of Persia pronounced like metropolis, or Indianapolis.”

“Sigh,” I mumbled.

Persepolis, is Satrapi’s mispronounced childhood. Growing up in a privileged Iranian family, that was once royalty. She had to endure the cultural and religious revolution of the fundamental Muslims as they took back their country from years of capitalistic western influence. While at the same time dealing with her adolescence and constantly struggling to understand the difference between right and wrong. While Persepolis’ subject matter is at times somewhat rather difficult to explain to readers who haven’t an understanding of what the sociological and political ramifications of Iran’s return to Islamic Rule had on its citizens. Satrapi seems to have no difficulties weaving an incredibly beautiful and at times sad and ironic story of a young girl coming of age. Her accompanying illustrations evoke a modern version of traditional Arabic images, while her stark black and white medium is reminiscent of Soviet Era propaganda. Making the juxtaposition of her art and story a metaphor for the clash of cultures that post revolution Iran has become.

Persepolis: is well written, excellently illustrated, and a wonderful commentary on the changing times we all live in.
...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

05/03/08

Read in May, 2008

I can certainly see why Satrapi's graphic novel has received such high praise from such high places. Her art is primitive, yet sometimes exotic, as when she depicts the republican protestors of the Shah's era as repeating a motif of the same drowsy mustachioed man. These panels remind of something out of Martin Ramirez, but more controlled, less schizophrenic. At other times, her broad swathes of black and thick white lines remind me of Picasso - her forced perspective like pottery decoration...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

06/12/08

Read in June, 2008

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi has been on my TBR list since the movie was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year. It moved up on the list because of the good reviews I’ve read on book blogs. When Dewey announced that latecomers to her Graphic Novel Challenge could join and read half the books, I requested Persepolis from the library.

Persepolis is a memoir in graphic novel form. It takes place in Tehran, Iran from about 1978-1983. It covers the fall of the Shah, the Iranian Revolution, a...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Dan rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

04/03/08

bookshelves: comics

Read in August, 2005

Fun story about this book...
Back in the day, I used to frequent the message board of writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina). I was something of a regular. Well, back in early 2005, BKV sold or optioned the film rights for Y, and as a treat to the loyal Caballeros (as we were called on the BKV Cabal) he and comic co-creator Pia Guerra decided to use some of their movie cash to buy pretty much everyone on the boards one graphic novel of their choice from a list of ten over-looked g...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

drbarb rated it:

05/15/07

bookshelves: educateyourself, graphicnovels

Read in January, 2004

recommends it for: Americans, women, Republicans

I am as middle class (we call it affectionately, the "poor rich" where I live.) I am intellectual. I am like Richard Rodriquez and bellhooks because education took me away from my roots, but gave me who I am today.

So, how could Iranian middle class intellectuals and professionals in the late 1970s have been so different than me and my family? For the young, under the Shah, there was a strong and progressive, very Western group of middle class Iranians. Just like me and mine.

So,...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Leslie rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

04/11/08

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Leslie by: book group

It’s hard to believe that Satrapi can convey any joy or humor in the face of Iran’s increasingly repressive political climate during the early 1980s, but indeed she does, in the character of Marji, whose thirst for knowledge is indefatigable. At first Marji’s parents shield her, forbidding her to go with them to demonstrations against the shah, but soon enough, Marji sees for herself what happens to her friends’ parents, and her parent’s friends and relatives.

One of the most heart...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Krista rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

04/21/08

bookshelves: womens-literature, world-literature, young-adult-lit

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Krista by: Maryl

Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is an autobiographical account of the author life, from about age 6 to age 14, growing up in 1960's Tehran during the Islamic Revolution and the beginnings of the war between Iran and Iraq. Critically, Satrapi's graphic novel has also been praised and compared to Spiegelman's Maus.

To reflect the youth and naiveté of her younger protagonist "self", Satrapi's story is laid out in larger and more simplistic panels, though the individual frames are still v...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Abigail rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422307)

04/14/08

bookshelves: biography-memoir, comics-graphic-novels, persia-iran

Read in September, 2004

recommends it for: Anyone Interested in Modern Iran, Graphic Art Lovers

A compelling memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is both a moving portrait of one young girl's life, and a keenly-observed record of the political and religious events unfolding in her country. The author chronicles her family's initial jubilation at the fall of the brutal and corrupt regime of the Shah, their dismay at the growing repressiveness of the new theocracy, and their suffering (along with their countrymen) during the Iran-Ira...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Austin rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

03/06/08

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Austin by: A Lot Of People, Some Good, Some Bad
recommends it for: Current Events Fans

Chances are if you're interested in reading Persepolis, you probably already know what it's about. It's this kind of reputation that made me hesitant to read it; how many times have we been burned by something that had been hyped before? It's a lesson we learn over and over in our lives, despite wanting to believe otherwise.

Fortunately, Persepolis is pretty impressive in spite of it's reputation. The style and form of the writing and art is focused with a kind of accuracy ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Ellen rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

01/18/08

bookshelves: finished-

Read in December, 2007

During the same time I was reading "Fun Home, a Family Tragicomic" I was also reading "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi.

It is interesting that both graphic novels are two women looking back on their childhood and the chaos that surrounded it. Granted "Fun Home" is very private and personal while "Persepolis" is looking at Iranian society after the revolution that disposed the Shah.

"Persepolis" caught my attention due its stark black and w...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

furies rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

03/14/08

bookshelves: 2008, absolutely-must-read, adolescent, graphic-novels, memoirs, war-literature, would-rec

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: sab, leigh, cate, micole

so the art is simple and perfect for the story. the story, the characters, the setting, the fact that this is a memoir - sometimes i wonder why anyone tries to write a traditional memoir when they could use the graphic novel form.

what i love most about this book is that the art is somewhat true to life - there are no allegorical illustrations of cats and mice, and there's no need to make the story seem more tragic by super depressing illustrations, or somehow more accessible by making it se...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Nojood rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

12/26/07

bookshelves: arabic-books

Read in December, 2007

I got this book in Arabic. Any one who is interrested could borrow it from me (if you are in Jeddah that is!)
أنهيت قراءة الكتاب ليس لأني سريعة في القراءة و ليس لأنه كتب بالعربية و لكن لأسباب أخرى؛ أولها أننا كنا في الطائرة ننتظر مكان للوقوف لمدة ساعة تقريبا(بسسب الحجاج رعاهم الله) و ثانيا لأن الكتاب مصور! أكثر ما شدني في ا...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

5 comments

Radhika rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

02/07/08

Read in February, 2008

I like graphic novels. However, when I opened this b&w book and saw four little girls all in veil, I wondered how I was going to remember or distinguish all the characters, let alone follow the story. Well, it wasn't hard given that the tale followed one of them mostly. The illustration has a stronger character and feel to it than most graphic novels- almost unpretty. And the subject matter- a nation's metamorphosis as seen through the eyes of a growing child- makes one appreciate what a...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Melissa rated it:

(review of isbn 037571457X)

03/20/07