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Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis
- Thread starter Kavitha
- Start date
Occlith
Well-Known Member
I have not read it but I checked the publisher's site and found some info. Looks interesting.
http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/satrapi2.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/satrapi2.html
Occlith
Well-Known Member
Review: Persepolis
***Possible Spoilers***
The Complete Persepolis is the memoir, in comic book form, of the childhood, adolescence, and early adult life of Marjane Satrapi.
As the only child of liberal-minded and loving parents, she did not adjust well to the stifling constraints of growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.
For her safety, her parents sent her to Vienna to continue her education and Marjane confronts a new set of problems - homesickness, racism, and alienation.
Drug use, depression, and some failed attempts at forming loving relationships with men, take their toll on Marjane. She realizes that she needs her family, comes to terms with her identity as an Iranian woman and returns to Iran only to find the conditions in her home country intolerable.
A visit with a war-injured childhood friend helps her learn this: The only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it.
With the blessings of her family, Marjane again leaves to make a new life for herself in France.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ms. Satrapi tells about herself, her family, and her country, in a way that is matter-of-fact, yet humorous.
The black and white illustrations are drawn in a simple cartoon style; although not highly detailed, they are expressive and lively. War and torture are depicted without being extremely graphic. Despite some of the subject matter, this is not a depressing story.
I don't think the publisher has an age rating on this book but it does contain some strong language, violence, sexuality (no sex acts or nudity), and drug use.
***Possible Spoilers***
The Complete Persepolis is the memoir, in comic book form, of the childhood, adolescence, and early adult life of Marjane Satrapi.
As the only child of liberal-minded and loving parents, she did not adjust well to the stifling constraints of growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.
For her safety, her parents sent her to Vienna to continue her education and Marjane confronts a new set of problems - homesickness, racism, and alienation.
Drug use, depression, and some failed attempts at forming loving relationships with men, take their toll on Marjane. She realizes that she needs her family, comes to terms with her identity as an Iranian woman and returns to Iran only to find the conditions in her home country intolerable.
A visit with a war-injured childhood friend helps her learn this: The only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it.
With the blessings of her family, Marjane again leaves to make a new life for herself in France.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ms. Satrapi tells about herself, her family, and her country, in a way that is matter-of-fact, yet humorous.
The black and white illustrations are drawn in a simple cartoon style; although not highly detailed, they are expressive and lively. War and torture are depicted without being extremely graphic. Despite some of the subject matter, this is not a depressing story.
I don't think the publisher has an age rating on this book but it does contain some strong language, violence, sexuality (no sex acts or nudity), and drug use.
beer good
Well-Known Member
Read this yesterday - all in one go - and it's definitely brilliant; it works both as a personal memoir, as a grassroots-perspective history of 20th century Iran, and as a condemnation of political/religious/misogynistic oppression. Iran is a fascinating country, containing both some of the most progressive and the most hard-line conservative schools of thought, a rich culture trying to shoehorn itself into religious fundamentalism. I keep wanting to read more Persian literature; for now, this makes a great companion piece to Reading Lolita In Tehran.
Really, the only major problem I have with it is that I already saw the film (which is excellent too) and they overlap so completely that it felt like a re-read. Somewhere between a
and a .
Really, the only major problem I have with it is that I already saw the film (which is excellent too) and they overlap so completely that it felt like a re-read. Somewhere between a
and a .Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood
Hello,
This is my first time posting on this forum so I thought I should ask about one of my favorite novels (actually a graphic novel) called Persepolis. I found entire novel to be captivating story of Marjane Satrapi's experiences growing up in Tehran, Iran. The experiening the eventual fall of the Shah of Iran, the Islamic Revolution, and war between Iraq and Iran really sculpted Satrapi to the person she would become later in life. I understand that throughout the novel, Marji attempts to figure out her identity while at the same time trying to preserve it.
But there are somethings about the book that I have yet to understand and I was hoping that maybe someone here could potentially give me some insight on the questions I have.
Questions :
1) Why is this graphic novel called Persepolis? I understand that Persepolis relates to the ancient Iranian city but why name the graphic novel after this? How are the title and the novel connected?
2) How does the author utilize the conventions of the graphic novel genre to communicate the significance of Persepolis both to Iran and to Marji?
3) How does Marji's story relate to the history of Iran? An extension of this question is how is Persepolis and Marji connected (other than this book being her autobiography of her life accounts in Iran)
4) How would you parallel Persepolis to Marji?
Your thoughts?
Hello,
This is my first time posting on this forum so I thought I should ask about one of my favorite novels (actually a graphic novel) called Persepolis. I found entire novel to be captivating story of Marjane Satrapi's experiences growing up in Tehran, Iran. The experiening the eventual fall of the Shah of Iran, the Islamic Revolution, and war between Iraq and Iran really sculpted Satrapi to the person she would become later in life. I understand that throughout the novel, Marji attempts to figure out her identity while at the same time trying to preserve it.
But there are somethings about the book that I have yet to understand and I was hoping that maybe someone here could potentially give me some insight on the questions I have.
Questions :
1) Why is this graphic novel called Persepolis? I understand that Persepolis relates to the ancient Iranian city but why name the graphic novel after this? How are the title and the novel connected?
2) How does the author utilize the conventions of the graphic novel genre to communicate the significance of Persepolis both to Iran and to Marji?
3) How does Marji's story relate to the history of Iran? An extension of this question is how is Persepolis and Marji connected (other than this book being her autobiography of her life accounts in Iran)
4) How would you parallel Persepolis to Marji?
Your thoughts?
:speechless
New Member
Persepolis is a really good book. It balances humor and serious topics very well. Plus, the drawings are cute 
10wordreview
New Member
10 Word Review
A stark, honest and often harsh child's perspective of Iran.
Story:
Writing:
Entertainment Value:
Educational Value:
Overall Review:
A stark, honest and often harsh child's perspective of Iran.
Story:
Writing:
Entertainment Value:
Educational Value:
Overall Review:
NotTheDoctor
Member
I loved Persepolis, I found it to be highly entertaining and very educational. I think it does a much better job of explaining Iran to people not familiar with its recent history than some other books...
Loved the movie as well, Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni are just wonderful! I actually own both the book and the DVD
Loved the movie as well, Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni are just wonderful! I actually own both the book and the DVD
Dmitri Dmitriev
Member
I suddenly feel like reading Persepolis again. It left a huge impression on me the first few times... The contrast between the comedy and the suffering during the revolution (like the art) paints a cruel and sometimes surreal picture of Satrapi's childhood in Iran.