Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Persepolis is the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi told in graphic novel form. It can most easily be described as a combination of of Maus and The Diary of Anne Frank. However, it is much more than that. It is a book that stands on its own with an account and lessons that are both unique and deeply personal.At its most basic level, Persepolis is a history of Iran. It begins with an introduction which recounts a brief history of Iran from its founding until the Islamic Revolution. The story of the Satrapi family then takes over. It reveals how a relatively progressive family must cope and change every aspect of their lives under an increasingly oppressive regime. This story is told from the eyes of a fiercely independent young girl. She must not only deal with the normal circumstances of growing from a child to an adult, but she also has to grow up dealing with Iran's Islamic Revolution and its war with Iraq. She must learn to deal with the imprisonment and "disappearance" of many people who she knows and knows of. She must also cope with having to hide the person she is since most of her interests and thoughts are illegal in her country.I read a review of this book several months ago and knew I just had to read it. It turned out to be much more than I ever thought it would be. Although it is an "easy read" and in comic book format, the emotions and thoughts of Satrapi and the people around her come through quite poignantly. I recommend this book for the story it tells and the emotions it conveys. I believe it will be enjoyable to people of many ages and backgrounds. I can't wait to read the sequel!

The book's introduction has a couple sentences which are revealing for the rest of the book: "During WWII, the British, Soviets, and Americans asked Reza Shah to ally himself with them against Germany. But Reza Shah, who sympathized with the Germans, declared Iran a neutral zone". It seems innocuous, but the reality is that Reza Shah and his regime were Nazi sympathizers. Hitler's Nuremberg laws declared Reza Shah's Persians "true Aryans", and as a result, an economic, deeply political, and anti-semitic partnership blossomed. The Soviets and the British, already in Iraq, needing oil, but also fearful of 1) an Axis invasion of India via Turkey and 2) Jewish pogroms facilitated by Reza Shah, invaded Iran.The author calls the invasion a British colonialist invasion for oil. Not once does she mention Soviet participation. Not once does she mention the centuries of Russian colonialism and war imposed on Iran since Peter the Great.So why does she make no mention of Reza Shah's antisemitism, Reza Shah's economic collaboration with the Nazis, and Russian colonialism? Much of her family and family friends - her grandfather and her father's friends in particular - were communists with deep relationships with Soviet Russia. So Russian imperialism is an inconvenient fact. What's more is that her grandfather is a descendent of Reza Shah's family, so Reza Shah's Nazi sympathies are never to be mentioned. So, Britain's the antagonist.This book is a deeply personal memoir that takes you through her thoughts and memories during an often-misunderstood time in Iran's history. If you're starting from zero, you'll learn something. You'll feel something too. But she repeatedly lies by omission throughout the book to protect her revisionist views of history. Even when strictly covering Iran (not British or Soviet imperialism), her tales of some events are outright debunked conspiracy theories, like Tehran's Cinema Rex fire. Don't treat this as a way to truly get to know Iran. Treat this as a story from an interesting person at a bar, or a tale by the campfire, with all the embellishments and convenient inaccuracies you can expect.And how's the read? It's a short, 16,000 word comic book. You could finish it in a day. With such a short length covering several of Iran's most tumultuous years, characters come and go, leaving as quickly as they're introduced. Stories end as soon as they begin. I'd prefer something longer, to feel more deeply for how she felt in the moment, to understand the people in her life better. But it doesn't help that her perspective is that of a spoiled teenager from an "upper middle class" (lol) family.

Great book order for my sons school project

I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis because it is incredible. A feminist Maus, it takes a young girl’s story as its subject to examine the broad themes of identity, empowerment, and resilience. The drawings are simple, but the impact is powerful. A must-read for all, including young people.

Great value