Persepolis

A couple of years ago I read the graphic novel Persepolis which is the story of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Told in the same style of Maus, her memoir gives the reader insight into 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 the war with Iraq. It is a hilarious story of a girl’s frightening childhood and her escape to a new life in the western world. Marjane is the daughter of Marxists and finds herself swept up in the revolution as a child only to find her family in danger as the revolution takes hold and the war leads Iran on to the path of ruin. While her neighbors are “going on vacation” Marjane spends most of her childhood worrying about God, her nose and whether or not her father is a true hero. Marjane’s story is an innocent witness to the extremes of living in the Middle East during the revolution. She tries to thrive in a world where she is made to cover up her entire body in a veil and eventually her parents smuggle her out of the country. Persepolis 2 is her story continued from her teenage years in Austria and how she manages to survive and fit in in Western culture. Persepolis 1 and 2 are a true account of survival in a turmoil country and the beauty of the individual that we watch Marjane Satrapi become.

http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/persepspread5.html

H.C.F.