This was brilliant: a graphic novel depicting the coming-of-age of a young Iranian girl living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, who is eventually sent to live in Austria for 4 years for her safety. It shows the horrors of living in a war-torn nation, as well as how terrifying it must be to live in a country run by religious fundamentalists/fanatics. The Muslim leaders recruited 14 year old boys in the war effort, closed down schools, targeted intelligent people and women wearing jeans and nail polish...

As a woman, the sexist views of the Islamists made me angry. One panel shows an Islamist on television saying "Women's hair emanates rays that excite men. That's why women should cover their hair." If that isn't the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard :/

This was a very raw and candid portrayal of life. Satrapi didn't really try to sugarcoat anything. I liked the precocious child, Marji, who was trying to understand the world that was going on around her and wasn't scared of questioning the hypocrisies she witnessed. And her self-realization as she tried to determine her identity in Austria and when she went back to Iran and was perceived as an outsider and a worldly woman also held my attention.

It made me think of people,especially children, living in other war-torn places such as Syria, what must they be going through everyday? What must they be witnessing? Torture, death etc? How can someone get over that?

Definitely a must-read for everyone.

Disclaimer: This book isn't anti-Islam, it's anti-fundamentalist. Satrapi mentioned how fundamentalists in every religion are dangerous, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Phenomenal.

ADDING THIS TO MY ALL TIME MUST READ GRAPHIC BOOKS

Tak jak przy wielu znanych i uznanych tytułach, sięgając po „Persepolis” podświadomie bałem się zawodu. Okazało się, że niepotrzebnie, bo to jeden z tych przypadków, który naprawdę na swoją opinię zasłużył. Najbardziej w historii podobało mi się to, jak autorka nie próbowała się na siłę wybielać i ukazywała swoje wady i porażki życiowe, z których czasem wynosiła lekcję, a czasem nie. Podobne odczucia mam w związku z podkreślaniem znaczenia w jej losach uprzywilejowanej pozycji, którą mogła mieć dzięki rodzicom. Świetny komiks i bardzo udana autobiografia.

9,5 de 10*

Fabuloso!
Como é que um livro aparentemente tão simples contém uma mensagem tão forte? Como é que uma ilustração com um traço natural, a preto e branco, pode ser tão perfeita e bela?

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There is nothing to be said of this except that it is incredible and beautiful. This was our pick for the Realm of Comics Bookclub. If you want to check out our full discussion be sure to watch this link: https://youtu.be/4XaQztyOx1Y

«Persèpolis» és un llibre en format de còmic escrit i dibuixat per Marjane Satrapi i publicat per primera vegada en quatre volums entre 2000 i 2003. És una obra autobiogràfica que relata la vida de la autora des de que té 10 anys fins als 24 anys i, a través de la qual, coneixem la història del Iran durant aquest període de temps, de 1980 fins a 1994.

Marjane Satrapi (1969) és una historietista (guionista i dibuixant), pintora i directora franco-iraní. Ha publicat diverses obres però la més coneguda és «Persèpolis». També ha dirigit diverses pel·lícules entre elles l’adaptació al cinema de «Persèpolis».

«Persèpolis» és un còmic en blanc i negre on el dibuix es caracteritza per la seua senzillesa i combina perfectament amb el text que és on recau majorment el pes de la narració. Allò principal és el text, el dibuix acompanya i il·lustra. La autora utilitza un llenguatge senzill i col·loquial que fa empatitzar al lector amb la història i li transmet de manera natural la complexitat d’un món complicat, divers i canviant.

L’obra narra en primera persona la vida de la protagonista, la mateixa autora. A través d’ella, el lector va descobrint la història recent de l’Iran, amb totes les seues vicissituds. Així, la narració comença al 1979 amb la revolució islàmica, la protagonista té deu anys per tant, al principi, se’ns dona una visió infantil que, a poc a poc, madurarà. Maduració perfectament complementada per la ideologia progressista i laica dels seus pares. Això permet al lector conèixer com es visqueren tots els canvis culturals i religiosos ocorreguts en la història recent de l’Iran.

Ja des del primer capítol se'ns mostra la incongruència de l'obligatorietat d'haver de portar un mocador al cap les xiquetes. Tot seguit se'ns narra, als ulls d'una xiqueta, la història recent i contextualitzada de l'Iran. A partir d'ací podem veure l'evolució intel·lectual de la protagonista (l'autora) qui, en un principi aspirava a ser profeta i acaba renunciant a la vida religiosa a causa de les injustícies que es cometen en nom de la religió.

Després esclata la guerra entre Iran i Iraq, fet que permet al lector conéixer l'adoctrinament i la ceguesa dels joves davant la promesa del paradís per als morts en guerra. En aquest context, Marjane és enviada a Àustria per ser allunyada de la guerra. Això permet mostrar el contrast entre la cultura occidental i la del mig orient. Contrast que Marjane anirà experimentant en ella mateixa, fet que permet veure l'evolució d'una adolescent que viu entre dos mons molt diversos. A més, l'autora aconsegueix plasmar perfectament les crisis pròpies de l'adolescència, allò que, en principi se li dona una importància i que, amb el pas del temps, es veu que no tenia. En definitiva, assoleix que, com a lector, et veges reflectit en el mateix personatge de la Marjane.

Així doncs, es tracta d’una obra excepcional i molt original que, a través dels ulls d’una xiqueta en creixement ens endinsa en un món caracteritzat i condicionat per la religió, la guerra, el contrast amb el món occidental aportant, fent-nos reflexionar davant d’aquests fets i les reaccions humanes davant els mateixos fets. Absolutament recomanable.

4.5 ☆ Lifting the Veil in Iran

Iran is a mystery to me, just one of the troubled Middle Eastern hotspots that has been in the news during my entire life. Despite its current violent image, however, I want to visit Iran because it lies along the famed Silk Road. Travel for me is about exploration, seeking the novel, but I also am pleased when I find things in common, especially in the human experience. And that’s what Marjane “Marji” Satrapi has accomplished in her graphic-format memoir, The Complete Persepolis. She just wanted to choose her own lifestyle and without experiencing gender discrimination. But she had been born in Iran in 1970.

The only child of modern, loving and permissive parents, Marji depicted life during the political turmoil and then the subsequent and complete oppression by the Islamic Regime in Iran from 1978 through 1994, the year she permanently left Iran for France. Marji was not even 10 years old when Iranians, including her parents, took to the streets, protesting the Shah as their ruler. They would not be satisfied until he left in January 1979. I wonder if they had known what replaced him if they would have pursued the same course of action.

Like other childhood memoirs during conflict/war, the reader only learns of notable events, but isn’t given much explanation or historical context for them. Marji certainly did not like wearing the veil, as mandated by the Islamic Regime under Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader who had been exiled during the previous 15 years, but who returned to Iran in February 1979. Nor did she care for the other changes, such as the closure of her secular, bilingual-in-French, and co-ed school. She was, however, proud of her mother Taji’s objection to the veil and whose photograph during a protest was published in European magazines. Of course, at that age, she noticed but hadn’t fully appreciated Taji’s subsequent need to dye her hair and don sunglasses in an effort to escape the authority’s attention.

But satisfaction at the Shah’s departure didn’t last long. The Shah had inherited his position from his father, Reza Shah, who in turn had been assisted in 1935 into the top leadership position by Britain, the US, and the USSR, who all had been interested in Iran’s oil. The Satrapis were related to the “rightful" leader of Iran, the one who had been overthrown in 1935. So the Satrapi family has had a history with political dissent. Marji’s Uncle Anoosh, who had long ago fled to the USSR, returned to Iran after the Shah’s exit, but then he was arrested and executed for being an alleged Russian spy. About 3,000 political prisoners, arrested under the Shah’s rule, were released in March 1979. Two of these political prisoners were friends of the Satrapi family. One was later killed and the other ex-prisoner’s sister was murdered when he couldn’t be found. And then in November 1979, Islamic militants stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took 52 hostages.

These were massive clues as to the direction of society under the new leadership, for Iran had officially become the Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979. Peace was not to be had as Iraq started to bomb Iran in September 1980, not just the oil refineries in the remote areas but also the capital city of Tehran was targeted. Iranian young men were quickly consumed by the military defense mounted against Iraq. Iran lied about the truth of their military weakness to its citizens but soon any boy over the age of 13 was not permitted to fly out of Iran as 14 year olds were conscripted into the army. In the midst of this turbulence and violence, 10-year old Marji began to rebel and act out by cutting school to join her 14-year old friends. Chastised by her mother, Marji ignored Taji’s lecture and took up smoking because she was a “grown-up.”

Iranian society was being torn further apart and upended and it was resembling Orwell’s dystopian world from Animal Farm. Marji’s Uncle Taher was hospitalised for his third heart attack in 1982; he had been feeling weaker since he sent his oldest son to Holland for safety. In order to receive permission to seek medical treatment abroad, her aunt needed to petition the hospital administrator, who turned out to be her former window washer but now promoted to a position of some authority and sporting a full beard in compliance with the new religious dictates.

This was just during the first two years in Iran under the Islamic Regime. The Complete Persepolis is a collection of the original four volumes Satrapi had published between 2000 and 2003. It effectively lifts the veil of life for the professional class in Iran during very turbulent years. As a product of her parents’ love and secular ways, Marji was an outspoken, femininist rebel. She believed in God but she certainly didn’t care for her religious beliefs to be so restrictively dictated. To make life bearable, there were two versions of life - the public one in which she wore the veil, no make-up, and was covered from head to toe. But behind closed doors and with fellow like-minded Iranians who chafed at the oppression, she read what she wanted, she partied, and she drank alcohol. Marji continued in her outspokenness, not realizing how she was placing herself in harm’s way. For her safety, her parents sent Marji at the age of 14 to Germany, though she knew no German, and hopefully, into the care of a good friend. Marji then faced struggles as she was a new immigrant who got immediately placed into another religious institution (how ironic), a boarding school run by strict nuns. She returned to Iran when she was 18 and we then see life in Iran from the perspective of a young adult.

Persepolis was fascinating to me, particularly the sections describing life in Iran. Not only was the graphic-format memoir done incredibly well, but it was an easy way to learn about an opaque country and its modern history. My feelings towards Marji, though, turned less positive in the last quarter of the book. It wasn’t because of her mental health issues but because some of her actions stemmed from her sense of privilege / entitlement.

li esse livro inteiro pensando "caraca a gente nao sabe nada sobre as tretas do oriente medio msm ne bicho"

«Cuando se tiene miedo, se pierde la capacidad de analisís y de reflexión. El temor nos paraliza.»

~Full review ~ 4.5 stars

Things I didn't know before : The Complete Persepolis was originally written in French. Way to feel dumb as shit in the (French) bookstore, I assure you.

Things I know now : Marjane Satrapi, as a French-Iranian, can't enter the US now. But hey, it's for your "security", all that shit.***

*** I just learned that French-Iranian had been authorized to go to the US with a Visa.

Favorite quote from the whole collection : n  "As time passed, I grew increasingly aware of the contrast between the official representation of my country and people's real lives, what happened behind doors"n (approximate translation by me, I don't own the English version to check)



... because we're at the core of what makes The Complete Persepolis so interesting and, I'll say it, indispensable. For me, the strength of Marjane Satrapi's graphic-novel relies on the insight it offers the reader : where more classic nonfiction books can easily end up as mere juxtapositions of historical events (which is often boring, okay?), The Complete Persepolis successfully breaks the codes by combining Iran's History with Marjane Satrapi's experience. I, for one, believe that we need this kind of insight just as much as history books, because as I said in my review of Rooftops of Tehran, it's way too easy to dehumanize people we know nothing about, to forget the much real people living in the countries that our leaders target.

This is what I mean when I say that there's nothing political anymore in strongly disagreeing with Trump's decisions, especially when it comes to Muslims. At this point, it's not about agreeing on reducing taxes for the rich in order to avoid flight of capital, it's about acknowledging that everything in Western culture participates in feeding our prejudices. Really it's about acknowledging that these prejudices are real and that it's an everyday, conscious work to fight against them.

What fighting prejudices does not mean : It doesn't mean agreeing with everything. It doesn't mean, oh my god, erasing western culture** - and that concept, loved and spread by so many of far right voters is so fucking ridiculous given the fact that we have controlled the narrative for so long, it's not even funny. The "great replacement" so dearly loved by FN voters is merely another way for them to express their islamophobia and show their lack of basic education. Forget me with this shit.

** I'm using "western culture" as a generalization here - I don't believe that all western countries share the *same* culture, far from it.

What fighting prejudices means : it means accepting that different experiences are just as much valid. It means educating yourself, reading about and from people from different cultures. It means rejecting any attempt of categorizing cultures as being good or evil as a whole. It means a lot of listening and maybe less talking.

Trust me, I very much include myself when I say that we have to educate ourselves. The truth is, I have a shit tons of biases. I'm desperately secular, hopelessly Cartesian and very much on the Left spectrum. I've beneficed from my white privilege my whole life. I'm a straight, abled woman from Europe. I will never understand religion - I am interested in religions, but it's not the same thing and it never will. As far as I'm concerned, though, people can believe what they want as long as they don't try to convince me that I should believe and live my life according to thus beliefs. And just to be clear, right now the intolerant people who are being vocals about condemning abortion or LGBTQIA rights in my country are very much Christians.

Nobody asks you to change what you are, but to accept that others aren't the same.

Am I going to screw up and fail to notice hurtful contents in the books I read? Probably, unfortunately. Yet I think that in the end, what baffles me and makes me so sad and so angry is the fact that so many people genuinely do not want to listen, learn and do better.

Everything starts with education, and I'm not saying this because I'm a teacher. Nobody should ever forget that "[we] know one thing; that [we] know nothing".

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"Vais conhecer muitos idiotas na vida. Se te magoarem, lembra-te de que é porque são estúpidos. Assim, não vais reagir à sua crueldade. Porque não há nada pior do que ser amargo e vingativo... Mantém sempre a tua dignidade e sê verdadeira contigo mesma."

'Persépolis' é uma das histórias aos quadradinhos mais conhecidas dos últimos tempos, exactamente pelo seu valor histórico e auto-biográfico.

O título do livro é uma referência à capital do antigo Império Persa, que é hoje o Irão, e é um livro de memórias da autora, entre a infância até entrar na vida adulta. A autora passou muita coisa na sua vida e vale a pena ler para conhecer esta história de vida incrível.
É um livro que se lê bastante rápido (em 24 horas, até), mas é tudo menos um livro simples, apesar da história ser contada com alguma ligeireza.

'Persépolis' começa quando a narradora ainda não tinha 10 anos e o Irão ainda era governado pelo Xá, uma altura em que esta sociedade era moderna e "ocidentalizada". Depois de uma revolução popular, em 1979, o objectivo era tornar o país numa República democrática, mas, em vez disso, o Irão passou a ser um país fundamentalista islâmico. Hoje, o líder religioso e o líder do Governo são os mesmos, as leis do país são as leis islâmicas.

O Irão é dos países que mais quero conhecer e que mais me desperta curiosidade, precisamente por toda a sua história e cultura. Já sabemos que aqui no Ocidente, e especialmente nos EUA, o Irão tem uma imagem péssima, de país terrorista e extremista. Isto reflecte-se no preconceito, nas políticas anti-imigração e alguma estupidez que certos líderes ocidentais ainda perpetuam.

O livro é óptimo para desconstruir preconceitos, para deixarmos de associar o Irão a coisas negativas, ao terrorismo e a repressão. É bom lembrar que o povo deste país também é humano, também sofre como nós. A autora utiliza muito o humor como forma de chamar a atenção para estes preconceitos e estereótipos.

Adorei a arte a preto e branco, adorei conhecer a história de vida da autora e adorei todo o aspecto cultural e histórico do livro. 'Persépolis' é um livro intenso e, sobretudo, imperdível!