Sunday, July 13, 2008

The Complete Persepolis

I'm not a fan of the graphic novel, but Satrapi's memoir, published in two parts beginning in 2004, is worth reading. Satrapi is an Iranian woman who grew up during the end of the Shah's regime, the beginning of Iran's Islamic Revolution, and its war with Iraq. The book illustrates her childhood from age 6, her exile at age 14 in Austria while her parents remain in Tehran, her return to Iran as a young woman struggling with depression and with her inability to fit in in either world. Alternately humorous and horrifying, this is an eye-opening account of the effect of the changes in the middle east on one neighborhood, one family, and one strong-willed young woman.

2 comments:

  1. The thing that piqued my interest in Persepolis was other literary references to the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, such as in The Kite Runner (Afghanistan) and The House of Sand and Fog (Iran).

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  2. Here is my link to Embroideries by Satrapi, which is part of the Persepolis collection.

    http://americanbibliophile.com/?p=4

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