Persepolis is a graphic novel/memoir of Marjane Satrapi. This book is about her childhood in Iran. It starts with Marjane being ten years old. Despite being so young, she has to wear a veil, and she experiences a lot of discrimination for being a female. This book is pretty sad, especially knowing that this is a memoir. Marjane is quite young when she experiences all of these horrible things. There is censorship from the government, and there are topics of discrimination and abuse, all from the uniquely written perspective of a child.



Persepolis was a wonderful experience. I thought it was fantastic and meaningful, (full of panels with hidden meanings and more than meets the eye),and I loved the art style. It really shows how much effort went into the making of this book. Marjane is very brave and courageous in making this, and I appreciate it, and would highly recommend it, especially to someone who is new to graphic novels!

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 الكتاب، عدا عن كونه مصور، هو استطاعة الكاتبة أن تنقل لنا أفكار طفلة بتفاعلها مع مجتمعها و سياسة بلدها و إيمانها بربها بطريقة جميلة. أحسست و أنا أقرأ بأني كنت بالفعل أقرأ طفلة ليس فقط من خلال كلماتها بل أيضا من خلال الرسوم البسيطة جدا و المعبرة بشكل أكبر. هذا شكل آخر من الكتابات الذي يتفاعل فيه النص مع الرسم فلا تستطيع أن تتنازل عن أحدهما لصالح الآخر. قرأت تعليقا هنا تقول فيه الناقدة بأنها أحبت الكتاب لدرجة أنها لن تستطيع إعارته لآخرين، أما أنا فأحببته لدرجة أني أريد أن أعيره للجميع.

An epic tale of sociocultural evolutions, silent revolutions, and never losing hope and trust in progressive, new solutions although backlashes and setbacks are omnipresent and daunting.

Each country has its big, subtle, and socially critical work that is right in the face of the shoals, bigotry, and cognitive dissonances of an established form of government and this is one of the best ones from the lands of One Thousand and One Nights. As always in these cases, the authors´ risk everything by using creativity and art to point the finger at the abysses, malfunctions, and dark sides of systems.

Unique because of the special, cultural background
In other cases and countries, especially democratic Western ones, this would be an average coming of age novel, forced reading if it´s a possibly bad, patriotically idealized writer from this nation, free reading if it´s a really good one with the target audience and style necessities considered, and thereby not acceptable for boring school reading, but Persepolis is different. Rebellion, emancipation, and freedom aren´t just some quarrels with parents, teachers, and conservative uncles and aunts, this is all against the system so that the courage and risk of everyone daring to speak out can´t be compared with Western emo teenage dirtbag goth problems, where there is nothing at stake except possible future psychiatric couch time fun regarding why mummy and daddy didn´t love, understand, and support ones individuality and creativity enough. Compare that to torture prisons and dictatorships, to totalitarianism, and discrimination of all females, and one gets a picture of what first world teenage problems really mean.

POV and authenticity.
Just as the unique, cultural background, the female perspective in this, again, misogynist society makes it extra impressive, irritating, and bizarre, because backlashes come with a special taste of bitterness. Never having something is a different and maybe even worse thing than losing everything that was in range again. Difficult to say if a male, not discriminated author, could or would (have wanted) to write a similar work, or if he would have had the talent to create the same, authentic, emotional masterpiece, but subjectively I don´t think so, because there are (don´t lapidate me, no matter if Western do gooders or jihadists) natural differences in male and female writing, strongly based on interests, audience (show me all the female hard sci-i readers and writers and the male romance equivalents), and yes, of course too, epigenetic conditioning to conform to gender roles and stereotypes. That´s the potentially bad part with discrimination, gender wars, and political correctness gone ultra bonkers. But this would go a bit too far, so let´s expand and get hyper meta towards

Global, political, religious, and, most important, economic reasons.
I tried to read a bit about the geopolitical background, especially regarding resources such as oil
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-P...
the US and UK playing with manipulative coup god mode in world history, again
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Ir...
the endless beef with Saudi Arabia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2...
, comparable to how different Christian faith´ battle until the end times about how the read holy books, the open or secret influence of other big players such as Russia, China, India, etc., but it´s far too complicated and controversial to get a clear picture and I simply haven´t enough background knowledge to give any competent comment or opinion. Although I assume that I´m not the only one, because to say that this is tricky would be an extreme understatement, especially including all the other US, Russian, Israeli, etc. war and proxy war "humanitarian interventions“ in the whole Middle East over the last decades. Now that´s a messed up constellation one shouldn´t touch with a ten foot pole.

Great transition, let´s faith enter the stage
As so often, it boils down to ideology, no matter if political, economic, or, in this case, religious, but instead of endless agnostic, atheistic, nihilistic, or whatever istic, or philosophical, ethical, sociological, etc. argumentation (and thereby endless debate full of logical fallacies, cognitive dissonance, bias, etc.), one should just compare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_...
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failed_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failed_...

Not much to add to that.
Except that I might now, again, be on some more watchlists and blacklists, and the number of countries I could safely visit without being considered a dissident demagogue reduced. Again. Good that I´m a homebody without any need to see the world.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

I HATE ALL OF THESE DEPRESSING IRANIAN ENDINGS. Ugh. So irritating. Review to come.

EDIT:

Two points that should be made.

1. This book will make you sad.

2. That's okay.

Persepolis is the first book in a graphic novel series about the childhood of Marjane Satrapi, the author of this book.



In this book, Satrapi reminisces her life in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran–Iraq War - a time of oppression and dejection. Of course, with the Islamic Revolution came the arrival of the high and mighty chador.




As I continued reading, you could strongly feel the push and pull between a rebellious culture and it's new dictatorial government. Satrapi did a marvelous job of graphically making this a reality.




And as the revolution continued, Satrapi got older.




And the more she was restricted, the more she rebelled.




Being an Iranian myself and having heard many tragic stories such as this, this is a topic I can genuinely say I was able to sympathise with. Persepolis isn't perfect, but I'm willing to read the others in the series. Overall, it's a unique memoir that will forever be a reminder of my heritage.

NIGDY NIE CZYTAŁAM LEPSZEGO KOMIKSU.
I jestem właściwie pewna, że już nie przeczytam.

A story about a very sweet lovable rebellious young girl from Iran..

No, sorry..it's a story of a free family under tyrant rule..
A story of once great country,Kingdom that retreat 1000 years back.

Marjane has dreams..
Dreams of Good life, Good deed, equality, prospect, freedom.
Then came the revolution which call for all that. To down the coup tyrant government.
But alas, the revolution got its own coup, named after a way-better-than-this-religion..even more tyrant..

nWhy - for me, as Egyptian- all this political events feels so familiar? Like having a Deja Vu?
One thing I learned here..History has its means to keep repeating itself..Anywhere it wish

Yeah, we felt so...25 Jan. 2011, 30 June 2013...and yet it was just for few day, And still it's from worse to worst..
--------
The Story

n
In very simple comics, even childish, comes a very excellent heavy family life story, Country history, a very well done melodrama.
About coming of age that really touching.

I loved Marjane so much and her amazing parents.
It take place from 1979 to 1985, where the young girl witnessed all the depressive rules of the new “Islamic Government”

The good thing is the richness of her family both in money and culture...even their ancestors.
That makes a very helpful great insight into the history of Iran, and the major political turns. Most of these things I didn't know - or even if I read it once in text books I may never remember it as I will after reading this novel-

I loved her wanna be a prophet.. it's of course unspeakable in my religion but it comes in a childish nice way...that's okay since she wanted the good deeds as Zarathustra.


This first part is divided into 9,10 pages chapters, each with a title that may makes small appearance or bigger one but it has strong effect in the story. It's brilliant really I loved the naming of the chapters so much.

There was a good diversity of the characters' opinions and how the new government effects them, but I felt that adding a Jewish family into the story was just “inserted” for the purpose of showing diversity and how everyone been effected by the horrors of the war.. it really could have been presented better to not feel that “alien”.

I loved that nostalgic feel that everyone in the middle east must got with the passion about the western music and culture. And was hard to see how much trouble it get those who liked it in that time in Iran.



I really had teary eyes by the last scenes of book one, I really liked the parents so much, how much affection they gave Marjane that I believe what really saved her by the end.

I have to say I may have a minor refuse of some of the very liberal acts of the family, mostly for religious reasons.. yet Part one still very acceptable compared to part two which…

Well let that when it comes to talk about book two.

Mohammed Arabey
20 July 2016

The comics format, the dry humor, the frankness, the child / adolescent / young woman point of view - all of them lessen a little the tragic history of Iran and its population.

I had been meaning to read this book for years. I think the first time I heard of it was when the movie came out (which I still need to see), and everyone was raving about it, etc. And I soon found out that it was based on this graphic novel (or, from what I've heard, Marjane Satrapi prefers the term "comic book"). So, since I tend to always read the book before seeing the movie, I intended to read this. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was one of the very first books I added to my "to-read" list here on Goodreads when I first joined ... and that was like, more than five years ago.

In case you don't already know, Persepolis is an autobiographical comic book chronicling the childhood of the author, Marjane "Marji" Satrapi, as she grows up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The story focuses on when Marji is six to fourteen years old, during which she experiences the Revolution, the overthrow of the Shah, and the beginning of the war with Iraq.

I don't even really know where to start. All I can say is, HOLY HELL this book is amazing. It's less than 200 pages long and drawn in simple comic strips, and yet it's packed with so much story and so much emotion.

First of all, Marji is easy to fall in love with. She's not perfect by any means, and has a lot of misunderstandings about the world, and the author is unflinching in her portrayal of her childhood self. But of course, Marji's flaws are what make her a compelling character and it's easy to sympathize with her.

Secondly, loved the illustrations. They are very simplistic, and apparently for some people that takes away from the serious parts of the story. Personally, though, I thought the simple style added a lot to it. Since it's from a child's point of view, I think the illustration style makes a lot of sense. Even in the most horrific scenarios, Marji still sees through a child's innocent eyes, so it makes sense that she'd depict horrible things in a more innocent way––and it's just as effective, if not more. There are a lot of striking illustrations that really stuck with me.

I also love that Satrapi makes the historical context of the story accessible without it becoming too complicated or falling into too much of an info dump. She doesn't leave the reader in the dark and drops an explanation here and there, and they're not too detailed, but they're easy enough to understand. And that's important in understanding some events in the story, and also just learning about the Islamic Revolution in general.

What I think I love most, though, is the balance of humor and tragedy in the book. With such dark subject matter, it would be easy to become focused on the negative rather than the positive. But Satrapi masterfully balances both the dark and the light side of her story. One moment I would be laughing out loud and the next I would be in tears.

Over all, I found it to be a very touching and powerful story with a lot of heart. It's one of the only books I've ever immediately re-read after reading it the first time. I hope to read the sequel soon!

This was a fascinating, deeply personal portrait of a childhood in post-revolutionary Iran. It never reached the emotional heights of other graphic memoirs I’ve loved like Fun Home, Maus, and Blankets, but it’s filled with wonderfully specific details that illuminate the quotidian realities of life under an oppressive regime.

160th book of 2023.

Likened a lot to Maus, which is a lazy comparison, both being graphic novels. I have Alan to thank for getting me to read more literary graphic novels this year. I was never opposed to them, as a boy, I never read novels, only comic books. I went to the local comic book shop every week and picked up the new releases. I've got boxes of them in the loft still. Maus is brilliant, Watchmen is brilliant. This isn't quite brilliant, but I have huge respect for it. The seemingly childlike style of artwork only makes some of the panels more harrowing. Speaking of Alan, I said to him that this felt a little dumbed down, like it was for kids. He pointed out that Satrapi is writing about being a child. Of course, there's a lot within these pages to feel fury about. And Satrapi's own fury is never too far away. You can feel it. There are little asides that burn with it. On the whole, I just wish there was more of it let out. Still, a worthwhile read.

Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is a powerful and moving graphic novel that tells the story of the author growing up in Iran. I was pleasantly surprised the graphic novel form succeeded at telling complex and nuanced stories in a highly accessible way.

For readers like myself with limited prior knowledge of Iran, the book provides a valuable and accessible window into the complexities of life during this historical period in a country that I for one only associate with the "Axis of Evil" and the brutal oppression of any kind of opposition to the regime.

One of the strengths of Persepolis is the way that it makes the experience of living through the revolution and the war tangible. It presented me with a sense of the everyday challenges and fears that people faced, as well as the more profound philosophical questions about identity and beliefs. The book feels so real, so true to life, that an important part of history becomes approachable and more understandable.

The story of Persepolis is told through the eyes of Marjane herself, and it follows her journey from childhood to her initial departure from Iran at the age of 14. She experiences the upheaval of the “Islamic Revolution” and the Iran-Iraq War. Throughout the book, Marjane grapples with the complexities of life in post-revolutionary Iran, including the restrictions placed on women, the political repression and violence that she witnesses, and the challenges of navigating her own identity and beliefs.

However, it is also important to note that Persepolis is written from the point of view of a privileged girl. Satrapi comes from a well-educated and politically active family, and her experiences growing up during the revolution are heavily influenced by her family's status. While this does not diminish the power of the story she tells, it is worth considering the ways in which her perspective may be different from that of others who lived through revolution and war.

On the other hand, it is doubtful a less privileged voice would have had both the opportunity and means to tell this story in such a powerful way. It seems much more likely for this story to never have been told had it been experienced by someone else.

Satrapi's art style is simple, yet effective, and the black-and-white images complement the story perfectly. The use of the graphic novel format allows her to convey information and emotions in a way that would be difficult to achieve through text alone. For example, the scenes of political repression and violence are particularly powerful, and the images of Marjane's family members being arrested and executed are both haunting and moving.

Despite the serious subject matter, Persepolis is also filled with moments of humour and satire, which help to lighten the mood and provide a respite from the often-heavy subject matter.

A very interesting graphic novel that garners four stars out of five. The second instalment is already waiting to be read.


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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam

Two star ratings really aren't what I would call positive ratings, but by Goodreads standards (i.e. "it was ok"), and in the case of my rating for Persopolis, it most certainly isn't a negative rating. I think what ultimately made this novel fall flat for me is that I was prepared for something more along the lines of "thought-provoking" and "eye-opener" and instead finished this feeling rather disappointingly underwhelmed.

I found the author's idea of writing her autobiography in the form of a comic, to be an intriguing and fun premise, but also, perhaps a problematic one as well. While certainly being innovative, I just don't think that there was enough strength and potency, in either the words or the pictures, which was unfortunate because the author had a real chance to really impact the reader with graphics that could speak a thousand words in thunderous volumes. I found the overall tone of the narration to be more along the lines of fanciful/whimsical for the serious message it was trying to convey, and at times I could not take Satrapi seriously, much less identify with her or relate. Granted, the author did write this novel from a child's-eye (ages 4 to 14), but there was just so much left unsaid for this to leave any real impact on me. It's important for me to feel connected with the characters I read, even more so in an autobiography that serves as a political memoir, but the circumstances for Satrapi as a child seemed to be so distant and faraway from the hardships and trials that the people of Iran were suffering from, leaving me far-flung from the issues as well.

Although I am disappointed that this wasn't the thought provoking and emotionally stirring read I was hoping for, I still think that this is a novel worth reading, and I applaud Mrs. Satrapi for her reasons for writing Persoplis. If you pick up this novel, be sure not to skip over the introduction. It was wonderful and powerful, and unfortunately left more of a lasting impression on me than the actual novel itself.

"...I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists. I also don't want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.

"One can forgive, but one should never forget."

(excerpt from the Introduction of Persopolis)