Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

#13 in my 2007 book challenge was Marjane Satrapi’s memoir and graphic novel, Persepolis. A friend who heard Satrapi speak said the author disputes that label, and that she is a cartoonist.

Satrapi’s first volume of her memoir details her childhood in 1980s Iran. Since she and I are roughly the same age, I found it fascinating to learn the perspective of someone who lived in Iran when I was just beginning to watch the news and hear the media and adult perspectives in the United States. My perception at that time was that the Shah was a good man, unfairly ousted by the religious fanatic Khomeini; the US welcomed the Shah because that was the just thing to do. Both time, education, and Satrapi’s memoir have helped me gain a much more nuanced picture of what happened.

Satrapi manages, through her stark black/white contrasts, to convey a child’s perspective, though adult insight murmurs between the lines, both of her cartoon panels and her narration. My favorite pages may be 70 and 71, on which we learn the fate of Marji’s uncle. The art, panelling, and text combine for a bittersweet synthesis.

This is a touching, beautiful book, and one that gave up further rewards and insights on this beyond what I had on my first reading.

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