Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon Graphic Library)

Good read

The Book Persepolis, By Marjie Satrapi, caught my eye right away. Uneducated about the Islamic revolution in 1980, I saw this book and knew I had to read it. Once the book arrived, I was immediately surprised by the book and the fact that it was a graphic novel. However, this really excited me because I had always loved reading graphic novels when I was younger. The book had one of the freshest perspectives on writing that I had read in a while. This has been one of the most interesting Memoirs I have ever read. The Memoir is so powerful because of its ability to telling stories through not just words but also pictures, and how it was able to express certain emotions, in ways ordinary books could not. For example, Satrapi uses the Graphic novel sense of the book to express the emotion that you could not see or empathize with through just reading text. Whether Satrapi decides to express happiness or sadness, Through the novel, she expresses the way she felt personally and also gives you a visual, to help put yourself into her shoes. She also gives the reader new insight into the Islamic Revolution and people who lived in Iran. Many people are quick to judge people, and that comes especially true when talking about people during the Islamic Revolution. She makes the reader understand that the people who had to first-hand witness the Islamic Revolution, are no different than ordinary people, just like the reader and even helps you sympathize with the character. Satrapi does a great job at incorporating western fashion, to help show the reader visually that people from who lived in Iran during the Islamic Revolution are just like any ordinary person. This book blew me away, and I look forward to reading the second part of Satrapi’s Persepolis.

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.

I am an English tutor. Many of the people I help are Arabic. When you deal with any culture, it is inevitable that difficulties will arise due to cultural differences. It is worse, though, when there are political difficulties between your country and theirs. Naturally, both sides are going to have prejudices. To better understand the people I deal with, I have been trying to familiarize myself with the cultures that I come into contact with. This is why I chose this book. It is a graphic novel. However, though the pictures might attract younger readers, I should warn anyone who is purchasing books for their child that it is probably more appropriate for teens. It depends, of course, on how much parents protect their child and how willing they are to answer questions. Though the book isn't exactly "snuff" (meaning it focuses totally on violence and killing), it doesn't shy away from the violence that the author witnessed or heard about. There is one picture that shows a man urinating on another man (as a form of torture). There are references to torture, dismemberment, and rape. Another picture showed how the army locked a bunch of people inside a movie theater and set fire to it. All that aside, this is mostly a book about a girl growing up in Tehran, Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The story starts in 1979-1980, when she is ten years old. It concludes when she is fourteen years old (though there is a sequel book after this one). It has a very strong plot and provides interesting tidbits about Islamic culture. Iran has had a tumultuous history that is rather hard to keep track of. However, this was particularly interesting because some of the events were ones I heard about when I was a child growing up. It provides another viewpoint on the same events--such as Saddam Hussein's campaign against Iran. There is also some nostalgia, as the girl had a fascination with American culture of that period. Though some of the things depicted are disturbing--moreso because the book is visual--it has its moments of humor. The author successfully humanizes the characters so you can identify and sympathize with them to some degree. I did enjoy the book, and I would recommend it to older readers who are interested in learning about other cultures. If you like "coming of age" stories, you will probably like this too. Be warned that it won't always made you feel good, and it may be inappropriate for young people and sensitive people. However, it is a good book--and I plan to keep it, as well as buy the sequel.

Although fully disclosed in the description, it did not register that this book would be done like a comic strip & was a complete surprise when I opened it for the first time!! Always willing to try something new, it immediately caught my attention, dragged me in, was a quick read, & made me weep for the authors painful experiences. So glad I opened the book. Honored the author shared the pages with me as a reader!

Good quality and fast delivery

Good book

Llego rápido y esta super lindo

一冊の本によくもこれだけぎっしりと詰め込んだものだと感心している。家族、戦争、革命、宗教…。作者の心情がたっぷりと載っていたので、大いに感情移入しながら読むことができた。様々なことを知ることができ、また平和の尊さを考えさせられる深い深い本である。読み終えた時の充足感は漫画の中では随一だ。この本を書いてくださったことに本当に感謝している。

Je recommande pour les amoureux de l’Iran