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Chicken With Plums

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 4,089 ratings · 440 reviews

In her acclaimed Persepolis books and in Embroideries, Marjane Satrapi rendered the events of her life and times in a uniquely captivating and powerful voice and vision. Now she turns that same keen eye and ear to the heartrending story of her great-uncle, a celebrated Iranian musician who gave up his life for music and love.

We are in Tehran in 1958, and Nasser Ali Khan, o...more

Hardcover, 84 pages

Published October 3rd 2006 by Pantheon (first published 2004)

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Jun 20, 2007 Kimberly added it

This is a story of eight days in 1958 Tehran. A cranky old man has taken to bed to die. There are flashbacks and flash-forwards from several perspectives. The man's regret and sorrow are taken to his grave but revealed to us. As in her three previous novels, Satrapi portrays brilliantly funny and resolute characters. The main one here is more distantly related to her than the ones in her earlier stories. In addition, he is a man and I think that gender plays a part in Satrapi's characterization....more

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Apr 16, 2008 Abigail rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Marjane Satrapi Fans, Graphic Novel Readers

Shelves: comics-graphic-novels, persia-iran

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Feb 28, 2008 Myra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another brilliant, graphic novel from Satrapi. This one is not long at all - in fact, I read the whole thing in less than an hour's time.

Chicken With Plums is a story about Satrapi's great-uncle, Nasser Ali Khan. Nasser Ali Khan is a musician who decides to die after his beloved tar is broken by his wife. His marriage is pretty much a disaster, and as the novel progresses, we find out exactly why this is so - and it just so happens to be the same reason for why Nasser Ali Khan is so very upset o...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

What I find most striking about Chicken with Plums is author/artist Marjane Satrapi's economy of images and words. In just 85 pages, she tells an eight day-long story inspired by the life of her uncle, Nasser Ali Khan. When we meet Khan in 1958 Iran, he is an accomplished tar (lute) player desperately seeking a new instrument that can replicate the sonic and emotional qualities of his old, broken one. This task's futility--coupled with a chance meeting on the street with a former love who no lon...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Kathryn Fulton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-manga

Someone has broken Nasser Ali's beloved tar, and with it something else has broken in Nasser Ali's life: He buys tar after tar, but they all sound dry and sour to him. Having lost his music, Nasser Ali decides it is time to die. Chicken With Plums is the story of his last eight days, as he lies in bed waiting to die. The narrative of his days is far-ranging, exploring Nasser Ali's past and recounting what will become of his family in the future, and even delving into old folk stories and superna...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Bettina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comic

Nasser Ali Khan hat einen ungewöhnlichen Wunsch: Er will sterben, weil sein Lieblingsinstrument im Streit zerbrochen wurde und kein ebenbürtiger Ersatz aufzutreiben ist. Acht Tage dauert es, bis der Tod ihn mitnimmt. In diesen Tagen erinnert sich Nasser Ali an verschiede Stationen in seinem Leben und auch Marjane erzählt aus ihrer Sicht vom Grossonkel, seiner Frau und seiner Familie. Selbst der Tod schaut vorbei und erklärt Nasser Ali, wie seine Arbeit abläuft.

Positive Erinnerungen vermag Nasser...more Nasser Ali Khan hat einen ungewöhnlichen Wunsch: Er will sterben, weil sein Lieblingsinstrument im Streit zerbrochen wurde und kein ebenbürtiger Ersatz aufzutreiben ist. Acht Tage dauert es, bis der Tod ihn mitnimmt. In diesen Tagen erinnert sich Nasser Ali an verschiede Stationen in seinem Leben und auch Marjane erzählt aus ihrer Sicht vom Grossonkel, seiner Frau und seiner Familie. Selbst der Tod schaut vorbei und erklärt Nasser Ali, wie seine Arbeit abläuft.

Positive Erinnerungen vermag Nasser Ali in seinen letzten Tagen allerdings keine zu finden. Seine große Liebe Irane durfte er nicht heiraten, weil deren Vater einen Künstler und Musiker nicht als Schwiegersohn akzeptieren wollte. Während seine spätere Frau Nahid selig war, dass sie Nasser Ali heiraten durfte, war sie umgekehrt für ihn immer nur die Frau, die er auf Drängen der Eltern hin heiratete. Es kommt, wie es vielleicht kommen musste, er sagt Nahid im Streit auf den Kopf zu, dass er sie nie geliebt hat. So wie er etwas zerbricht, was ihr viel bedeutet hat, die Liebe zu ihrem Mann, zerbricht sie, was ihm wichtig ist: Sein Instrument. Nicht wissend, dass er damit immer dann am besten Musik spielte, wenn er sehsüchtig an Irane dachte. Damit nimmt das Unheil seinen Lauf.

Satrapi erzählt in einem plakativen Schwarz-weiß-Stil, der mich teils an Linolschnitte erinnerte. Daran musste ich mich, die selten Comics liest und von diesen wenigen andere Grafik kennt, erst einmal gewöhnen. Dafür passt der Stil aber gut zum missmutigen Nasser Ali, der sein Leben offensichtlich nicht besonders glücklich findet und - mit Ausnahme seiner Musik - auch sonst wenig Freude zu finden scheint. Seine drei Kinder findet er lärmig, die Frau ist ihm zu selbstbewusst und aktiv. Er erkennt aber nicht, dass sie das werden musste, weil sie Geld hinzu verdienen muss und ansonsten das komplette Leben der Familie regelt. Nasser Ali ist viel zu abgerückt von den alltäglichen Dingen, um seinen Beitrag leisten zu können. Satrapi findet sogar, dass es besser ist, dass er beispielsweise die zukünftige Entwicklung seines Sohnes nicht miterleben muss. Es wäre ihrer Meinung nach zuviel für ihn.

So poetisch Satrapi über die letzten Tage ihres Großonkels erzählt, so richtig mitgerissen hat mich die Geschichte trotzdem nicht. Nasser Ali ist mir zu depressiv und negativ an sein Leben herangegangen, als dass er mich rühren könnte.(less)

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Aug 16, 2012 Pinkan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(re-reading)
Karena sekarang ada film-nya, jadi pengen baca ulang Ayam dengan Plum ini. Ternyata saya membacanya tahun 2008 ya! Wow!
Saya masih ingat, 4 tahun lalu buku ini tidak terlalu berkesan. Dibanding karya Satrapi yang lain, yang ini datar-datar saja. Ketika baca kembali -memang sih, tema yang diangkat biasa saja, dan ceritanya tidak terlalu istimewa, tapi saya mendadak jatuh cinta pada detil-detil kecil di novel grafis ini. Celetukan-celetukan si bungsu yang ingin opium, ekspresi-ekspresi...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

It's easy to be disappointed in this book if you expect something of the scale and depth of the author's "Persepolis." But Satrapi has set out to tell a different kind of story in this book, and judging by that, I'd say she has come much closer to succeeding than some reviews here might suggest. Telling her story twice, first from an outsider's point of view and then from the perspective of the main character, Satrapi gives a postmodern twist to her material. And filling in what were surely the...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Andrew Shuping rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel

"Chicken with Plums" is based on the true story of Satrapi's great-uncle, Nasser Ali, a famous Iranian musician, whose Tar is destroyed by his wife. After deciding that he has nothing else to live for he takes to his bed and waits to die. Eight days later he dies. In between Nasser's wife, brother, sister, and children all try to convince him to stay in the living world as he dreams of what the future might be.

"Chickens with Plums" has the same great artwork of Persepolis that places the focus o...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Carlos rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was short, but our time together was just wonderful. I don't think it was as focused and fleshed out like Persepolis, but I don't fault Marjane for it. Persepolis was a personal story that Marjane LIVED, Chicken with Plums is also a very personal story, but it's about events well before her time. It's incredible she was able to weave such a compelling personal tale, with what was probably second hand information. Scraps here and there from different people, all of a man she never knew; and ye...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Travis McClain rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having completely loved Satrapi's graphic novel memoir, Persepolis, I was excited to discover Chicken with Plums among the new releases at the Oldham County Public Library the last time I was there. True, the hardback was published nearly three years ago, but since I hadn't read it yet I didn't care. This time, the writer/illustrator tells an embellished account of her mother's uncle, Nasser Ali Satrapi, who died 22 November 1958.

Chicken with Plums offers glimpses into Nasser's life, provided in...more Having completely loved Satrapi's graphic novel memoir, Persepolis, I was excited to discover Chicken with Plums among the new releases at the Oldham County Public Library the last time I was there. True, the hardback was published nearly three years ago, but since I hadn't read it yet I didn't care. This time, the writer/illustrator tells an embellished account of her mother's uncle, Nasser Ali Satrapi, who died 22 November 1958.

Chicken with Plums offers glimpses into Nasser's life, provided in flashbacks and the imaginings of Nasser and his immediate family. He was a musician, prominently skilled in playing the tar, which was his only means of maintaining peace and sanity in a home with an increasingly nagging wife and tiresome children. When his tar is destroyed during a spat with his wife, Nasser tries in vain to replace it...and failing that, elects to die.

Unlike Persepolis, which covers the bulk of the author's childhood years through her early adulthood, Chicken with Plums really tells the story of her great uncle's final week. The account she offers of his life is confined to just a handful of panels to expound upon a singular moment here or there. We are left with an image of Nasser Ali that is recognizable as a person, and yet our understanding of his life is as incomplete as his storyteller's simplistic artwork. I wished to know more about Nasser Ali and his life by the time I finished the 84th, and final, page, and there simply isn't any more story.

Fans of Persepolis will find many themes present in Nasser Ali's story. Indeed, it is easy to envision a young Marjane admiring her misfit uncle as a rebellious predecessor in the family. Even without the benefit of Satrapi's prior works, readers should have no difficulty identifying with the tale of a man confronted by a life that is no longer rewarding. The humor is sparse, for this is a tragic story, yet I did find myself chuckling a few times and even outright laughed aloud for nearly a minute at one point. We can all only hope that, when the time comes, someone as talented as Marjane Satrapi might care enough to tell our own stories.(less)

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Jul 28, 2009 Abraham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

This graphic novel has much the same feel and tone to it as Persepolis, but it has certain qualities that elevate it, in my mind at least. Whereas Persepolis tried to deal with too much at once which made it confusing at times, Chicken with Plums centers very astutely on just one character during a reasonably small part of his life. It flows very nicely, with the frequent reminiscences gradually morphing into the main focus of the story - a very novel and appropriate technique that Satrapi handl...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Aidan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, biography, graphic-novels

It may be more appropriate to call this one a "graphic novella," as it is a mere 84 pages long. Satrapi, as ever, is able to take from personal history and craft a compelling story. She has a way of telling a story that is slow and plodding and yet pulls the reader in, even as that reader (me) has a limited understanding of the (figurative and literal) Iranian landscape.

The best part of this slim volume is the use of Satrapi's great uncle, Nasser Ali, as means for exploring human connections— b...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is classic Satrapi. What a sad, depressing love story! This is the story of Marjane's great-uncle, a tar musician who fell in love but was rejected by his lover's father. He then took his mother's advice to marry sensibly, but to a girl he didn't love. His wife had loved him since she was 8, but not being loved in return and feeling like she had to do all the work in the family made her resentful and in anger she broke his beloved instrument. The final straw, however, was when the musician...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Shane R. Toogood rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
It is 1958 in Tehran and Nasser Ali Khan, a respected musician and somewhat of a celebrity will die. After contemplating how he can kill himself—electrical shock, hanging, slit wrists—he starves himself. He is being a martyr for his sin: pretending to love himself and his family when he has yearned for a different woman his entire life. After getting into an argument with his wife, she breaks his tar. Now nothing can mend his tar, his heart. He tries to replace the tar, just as he married his wi...more
It is 1958 in Tehran and Nasser Ali Khan, a respected musician and somewhat of a celebrity will die. After contemplating how he can kill himself—electrical shock, hanging, slit wrists—he starves himself. He is being a martyr for his sin: pretending to love himself and his family when he has yearned for a different woman his entire life. After getting into an argument with his wife, she breaks his tar. Now nothing can mend his tar, his heart. He tries to replace the tar, just as he married his wife to try and replace his true love, Irane. Both prove futile.

Throughout the graphic novel—based on true events of the author’s great-uncle—there is a constant theme of chicken and plums. The chicken with plums symbolizes the musician’s unobtainable desire, a constant desire to consume something that isn’t the same with age. He admits that his taste buds just aren’t the same. While dreaming of a meal of chicken with plums—a favorite dish of his—the food grows breasts and eventually morphs into a voluptuous, naked Sophia Loren, a favorite actress of his. Again, Khan is reminded of the things he cannot have.

Food is nourishment and is needed just as much as love and sexual intimacy. If Kahn cannot eat, he cannot love, which means his sexual desires become incompetent. As the story progresses, and Satrapi chronicles her great-uncle’s last days, the reader finds out that his muse was a lost love whose father refused his daughter to marry a musician with no income.

On page 77, Kahn’s tar master said that could play the tar so well because he was in pain and that you’ll never read a poem by a man who loves his wife and listens to her bicker for four times a day. In Satrapi’s stunning graphic novel, she poses the question: What makes life worth living? Is it the measure of a man’s wealth, family, happiness, his talents or who he has loved? Khan only loved three people in his life: his mother, his daughter, and the woman he never married, and he could not live without all three. His mother passed, love long gone, and his daughter was growing up. If Kahn cannot love those he truly cares for, then what is the meaning of life?

(less)

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Dec 23, 2009 Chad rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

Whereas Marjane Satrapi's most main-stream work, "Persepolis" is a graphic novel, "Chicken with Plums" is more of a graphic short story. The limited page count belies the power of the story, and indeed forces a precision upon the bittersweet musician's tale that brings the point home all the more effectively.

The story ostensibly covers eight days in the life of Satrapi's great-uncle and renowned tar player, Nassar Ali, but the use of flashbacks provide insights into the family and personal histo...more

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Jul 17, 2009 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-and-graphic, foreign

satraappiii!!! dapet pinjeman dari Ronny... thx yaaa..

brpun dibilang buku ini isinya kisah org stres, g teteup kekeuh mo baca! in the end yg g temukan dari buku ini adalah kisah 'keteguhan' hati sang paman, Mr. Nasser Ali sepanjang hidup... demi cinta dan musik.

hidup seperti dlm penggambaran satrapi lainnya adalah perjuangan,
bagaimana menjadi seorang yg jujur dan berani.. suatu hal yg dipaksakan pada akhirnya tidak akan berbuah manis. Prasangka pun tidak akan melahirkan apa-apa selain sakit.

suat...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Anugrah Ramadhani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Chicken with Plums, mengambil latar belakang kota Teheran pada tahun 1958 mengisahkan tentang Nasser Ali Khan, paman buyut dari Marjane Satrapi, yang terkenal sebagai salah satu musisi tar (sejenis alat musik perkusi asal Iran) terbaik di Iran pada masa itu. Cerita berpusat keinginan Nasser Ali untuk mengakhiri hidupnya karena suatu sebab pada tanggal 15 November 1958. Tepan delapan hari kemudian, yaitu pada tanggal 22 November 1958, Nasser Ali pun meninggal. Selama delapan hari itu, sambil menu...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Plucino rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comics

Una bella scoperta. Ma sì, diciamolo pure: un gioiellino.
La grafica è molto semplice ma espressiva, la storia può essere letta sotto molti punti di vista: il rapporto fra musicista e strumento, il rapporto fra padre e figli, il rapporto ma marito e moglie. Per non parlare degli aspetti mistici.
Una fonte di riflessione, che non impedisce una lettura disimpegnata della semplice storia del musicista a cui ruppero lo strumento e che ne patì fatalmente di conseguenza.
Il tutto in un volumetto smilzo c...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Wes Bishop rated it 5 of 5 stars

Every once and awhile you come across a story that is so tragic that it goes beyond a story and becomes a beautiful work of art. The story that Marjane Satrapis has given us is such a work, combined with her art this story leaves the reader touched and unable to feel anything but the beauty and the tragedy of the characters. From the lessons she offers on life, and love, to the simplistic lessons of faith and the tragic condition that so many find themselves in, this book will leave even the mos...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Benjamin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, first-edition, edition, 2009-read, iran, history, politics, middle, east, music, religion, sufi, graphic-novel

Another short but engaging piece from Ms. Satrapi. Like Persepolis I was pleasantly surprised to find myself being subtly informed of Iran's recent history via the lenses of her family members. The story is serious but also humorous. I enjoyed the way it deals with marriage and family, passion for art, and how all this gets caught up in day to day complexities. From the get go, you know the story is going to be bittersweet at best. Not any real departure in the illustration style, at least not f...more

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Sep 15, 2009 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic_novel

So apparently the last time I read this was before I had an account. This is another book we've been told is naughty by the central offices, only this time they removed the record from the catalog before we could "evaluate" it and see if we wanted to keep it on the shelf. So even if we do keep it, no one will know we have it and no one will be able to find it. All because of two panels of boobs. I had no idea they were so scary. I'm walking around with weapons of mass destruction in my bra.

Anyw...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Alex Otero rated it 4 of 5 stars

This month, I read a graphic novel by one of my favorite authors Marjane Satrapi. In this true story she retells the final eight days of her Uncle Nasser Ali Khan's life. Nasser was a well known tar player in Iran in 1958, but when his prized instrument is broken beyond repair, he loses the will to live and decides to spend his life in bed waiting for death. Throughout those eight days, we learn about key events in his life which inspire his music and ultimately lead to his death. I really enjoy...more

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Apr 08, 2012 MJ Nicholls rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-parts-of-the-universe, graphic-novels, distaff

I saw the movie of Satrapi’s Persepolis and found it deeply irritating. But, being a pioneer in the graphic novel form—hell, a lone populiser of the form—I had to read something by her. This graphic novella (must I start a separate shelf for shorter graphic works?) is a melancholy folktale about a poor musician whose wife snaps his tar (like a sitar) in two. Finding no replacement for his prize instrument, he takes to his bed to die, where he reflects on his thwarted life—marrying the wrong woma...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Penelope rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, spring-11, memoir

Chicken with Plums is like the tragic accompaniment to Satrapi's other short graphic novel, Embroideries. Love, unrequited love more specifically, is a prominent theme but this time we experience the story from a man's perspective (where Embroideries is pretty much exclusively told from various female perspectives). Chicken with Plums is also a darker, sadder story. As always, Satrapi manages to weave humor into the narrative, but all in all it's a sad tale.

I read Persepolis a few years ago, so...more

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Nov 23, 2009 Ollie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people with a big heart - especially musicians

This is not as long as Satrapi's more famous works Persepolis 1 and Persepolis 2 but it carries the same emotional punch and beauty. It's more of a short story that can be read over a few hours, with a final scene that takes you by surprise with its poetic beauty and tragedy. Chicken with Plums is the favourite dish of Nasser Ali Khan, a renowned master of the tar and a distant relative of Marjane's. The story follows the 8 days Nasser lay in his bedroom in 1958 (11 years before her birth), inte...more

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Jul 29, 2008 Kerry rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was just really disappointed by the book. I do really enjoy the author's illustrations, but I just didn't really like the story. It was sad and depressing as if follows a musician who has become a stranger to his wife and children, despite the fact that he lives with them. I just thought it was a big downer. I don't really want to read about a comic who as given up on life.

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May 02, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: iran, memoirs, graphic-novels

As with Embroideries, it's not entirely clear whether Chicken with Plums is memoir or fiction. There's a character that looks just like Marjane from Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, which would make the protagonist the author's uncle, but it's not clear.

Depressing. The protagonist's unhappiness all seems to stem from not marrying the woman he loved and marrying a woman he didn't love, and while that's a fine lesson to take away, couldn't he still have found some way of finding happiness in h...more

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May 25, 2010 Becky R. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Chicken With Plums is actually quite a complicated story to put into words. In this tale, Sarjane Satrapi tells the story of a great-uncle who was a musician, who during an argument, had his tar (Iranian instrument he played) snapped in half by his wife. From the moment his instrument was destroyed, he began the search for a new one, and realized it could not be replaced, so he laid down to die. The remainder of the story examined, day by day, why he wanted to die, how he wanted to die, and when...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Chueca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-all, graphic-novels-by-womyn-of-color

Nasser Ali Khan is buried before he dies. Crippled passion. Missed connections. Ungrateful children. Failure to follow your souls directing or intuition. "Chicken with Plums" is indeed a very sad story. It's not sad because someone dies, people die all the time. It's sad because of how adverse the characters are to happiness or even contentment. And of course it's not their fault, there lingers a bitterness helld against others that can never be undone, like a tattoo on the heart. Satrapi is abl...more

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About Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi (Persian: مرجان ساتراپی) is an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novellist, illustrator, animated film director, and children's book author. Apart from her native tongue Farsi, she speaks English, Swedish, German, French and Italian.

Satrapi grew up in Tehran in a family which was involved with communist and socialist movements in Iran prior to the Iranian Revolution. She att...more Marjane Satrapi (Persian: مرجان ساتراپی) is an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novellist, illustrator, animated film director, and children's book author. Apart from her native tongue Farsi, she speaks English, Swedish, German, French and Italian.

Satrapi grew up in Tehran in a family which was involved with communist and socialist movements in Iran prior to the Iranian Revolution. She attended the Lycée Français there and witnessed, as a child, the growing suppression of civil liberties and the everyday-life consequences of Iranian politics, including the fall of the Shah, the early regime of Ruhollah Khomeini, and the first years of the Iran-Iraq War. She experienced an Iraqi air raid and Scud missile attacks on Tehran. According to Persepolis, one Scud hit the house next to hers, killing her friend and entire family.
Satrapi attended the Lycée Français de Vienne

Satrapi's family are of distant Iranian Azeri ancestry and are descendants of Nasser al-Din Shah, Shah of Persia from 1848 until 1896. Satrapi said that "But you have to know the kings of the Qajar dynasty, they had hundreds of wives. They made thousands of kids. If you multiply these kids by generation you have, I don't know, 10-15,000 princes [and princesses]. There's nothing extremely special about that." She added that due to this detail, most Iranian families would be, in the words of Simon Hattenstone of The Guardian, "blue blooded."

In 1983, at the age of 14 Satrapi was sent to Vienna, Austria by her parents in order to flee the Iranian regime. There she attended the Lycée Français de Vienne. According to her autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis, she stayed in Vienna through her high school years, staying in friends' homes, but spent three months living on the streets. After an almost deadly bout of pneumonia, she returned to Iran. She studied Visual Communication, eventually obtaining a Master's Degree from Islamic Azad University in Tehran.

During this time, Satrapi went to numerous illegal parties hosted by her friends, where she met a man named Reza, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War. She married him at the age of 21, but divorced roughly three years later. Satrapi then moved to Strasbourg, France.(less)

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