Product Description

Wise, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, "Persepolis: The Story of Childhood" tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken child of radical Marxists, and the great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. "Persepolis" paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Amidst the tragedy, Marjane's child's eye view adds immediacy and humour, and her story of a childhood at once outrageous and ordinary, beset by the unthinkable and yet buffered by an extraordinary and loving family, is immensely moving. It is also very beautiful; Satrapi's drawings have the power of the very best woodcuts. "Persepolis" ends on a cliffhanger in 1984, just as fourteen-year-old Marjane is leaving behind her home in Tehran, escaping fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in the West. In "Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return" we follow our young, intrepid heroine through the next eight years of her life: an eye-opening and sometimes lonely four years of high school in Vienna, followed by a supremely educational and heartwrenching four years back home in Iran. Just as funny and heartbreaking as its predecessor - with perhaps an even greater sense of the ridiculous inspired by life in a fundamentalist state - "Persepolis 2" is also as clear-eyed and searing in its condemnation of fundamentalism and its cost to the human spirit. In its depiction of the universal trials of adolescent life and growing into adulthood - here compounded by being an outsider both abroad and at home, and by living in a state where you have no right to show your hair, wear make-up, run in public, date, or question authority - it's raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30710 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is an exemplary autobiographical graphic novel, in the tradition of Art Spiegelman's classic Maus. Set in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, it follows the young Satrapi, the six-year-old daughter of two committed and well-to-do Marxists. As she grows up, she witness first-hand the effects that the revolution and the war with Iraq have on her home, family and school.

The main strength of Persepolis is its ability to make the political personal. Told through the eyes of a child (as reflected in Satrapi's simplistic yet expressive black-and-white artwork), the story shows how young Marjane learns about her family history and how it is entwined with the history of Iran, and watches her liberal parents cope with a fundamentalist regime that gets increasingly rigid as it gains more power. Outspoken and intelligent, Marjane chafes at Iran's increasingly conservative interpretation of Islamic law, especially as she grows into a bright and independent teenager. Throughout she remains a hugely likeable young woman.

Persepolis gives the reader a snapshot of daily life in a country struggling with an internal cultural revolution and a bloody war, but within an intensely personal context. It's a very human history, beautifully and sympathetically told. --Robert Burrow

FT
'Tobias Grey interviews Marjane Satrapi about the film adaptation
of Persepolis'

Philip Pullman
‘A superb piece of work… I wish it and its very talented author a great success.’

Customer Reviews

A comic strip for all ages
This book traces the life of young girl growing up in turbulent times in Iran, beginning with life under the Shah, moving on to the revolution and continuing through the Iran / Iraq war. The girl narrates anecdotes from her own life that provide a thought-provoking window onto the way these events affected ordinary individuals. The choice of a comic strip to portray events of such significance and tragedy has some disadvantages, one being the limits it places on the possibilities of characterization. On the other hand, there are also numerous advantages. The illustrations can at times be quite powerful, the simplicity of the format is used effectively to highlight the stark brutality and poignancy of the events portrayed, and perhaps above all, the graphic novel format makes a story with such important themes accessible to people of all ages.

A unique insight into Iran
I am not typically a big fan of graphic novels but the work of Joe Sacco took my breath away when I was in college so it was with glee and expectation that I took this book up.

Its superb. Comics are considered juvenile. I am utterly convinced, as a result of this book, that the graphic novel is a great vehicle for discussing the most serious and sombre of topics. The contrast between the simple drawings and the complex events they represent create a balance so that you can read the saddest things without being weighed down.

That having been said, the moving tale of an independent young woman's maturation in and out of post-revolution Iran moved me to tears at some points. I have an insight into the country that countless documentaries or news articles about President Ahmadinejad or Ayatollah Khomeini couldn't give me.

I strongly recommend it to everyone. It will be an eye-opening education.

buy it! its fab!
I really really loved this book, which I bought because of a couple of glowing reviews in newspapers. Its so good, I'd say you're really missing out if you haven't read it. Everyone I buy it for ends up buying it for their friends too. Basically its the story of a very precocious girl living in Tehran with liberal secular parents and how they live through the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, but its not heavy-going despite that. Its full of both funny and poignant moments, and the author is fairly frank about how as a child she would cause her folks loads of stress. The way she works the story between the words and images is wonderful. Buy it! You'll love it. I'm reserving the next volume right now.