Review: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Series: Persepolis #1
Release Date: June 1st 2004
Publisher: Pantheon
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Source: My Collection
Author: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

A New York Times Notable Book

A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year”

A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages 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 only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane 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. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

 

I don't really have very much to say on this book since it is a memoir and you can't really critique someone's life. So this will really only be a review on what I thought of the book in general.

This is part one of two in a memoir of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood growing up in Iran. She was the daughter of upper-middle class parents who were active in the Iranian Revolution along with other members of her family. She spent much of her childhood trying to learn and understand what was going on at the time. Usually when you have memoir type book from the perspective of a child they know too much. They sometimes don’t act as a child really would or they say things that are too old for the child to say. This one turned out fine though. She sometimes acted like she knew a little too much but as she grew older she did grow wiser. I couldn’t imagine growing up with a childhood like that.

The artwork is very minimalistic and I wasn’t a big fan of it. It was all black on white or white on black illustrations. It sort of got old after a while and I found myself reading what was being said rather than taking in the detail of the frames because there wasn’t really any details.

This was an ok book considering I don’t read non-fiction books but being it was a graphic novel I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to. The end of part one was rather sad which is why I will read part two because I would like to know the rest of her story but from the hype I heard about it, I expected more.

 My Rating: