11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Endearing, moving and tragic, February 16, 2007
These two graphic (pictorial) novels were two parts of the most moving autobiographies I have read. The illustrations showed the body language of the shyness of a child, the utter sadness of family separations, the slyness of bad behavior, the helplessness of living under a totalitarian government. The lack of full prose is more than supplanted by the drawings. The effect that the Iranian revolution had on this family will be felt for generations to come.
JPL
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Persepolis 1 and 2 really need to be read as a set., January 5, 2007
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi, is a comic book style ("illustrated novel") autobiography of memories of life as a child in Iran just before and after the overthrow of the Shah (roughly 1978-82), and during the war with Iraq. Her parents are well-educated, seemingly progressive, and, through the eyes of a child, heroic.
Life changes. She experiences the mandatory use of the veil, stricter schools, hiding activities from nosy neighbors, and the phrase "...on a trip" as a code for death in war or by execution. Children play games of torturer and torturee. Satrapi reveals her evolution as a child rebel, albeit a selfish one focusing on the narrow-mindedness of youth... rebellion is wearing a Michael Jackson button and tight jeans in public. However, reality gets closer and closer... a favorite uncle is imprisoned and executed, a friend is killed in an Iraqi bomb attack, food is scare, and teachers are more draconian.
This book took about an hour to read. There is good congruence between the script and the drawings, but the style of presentation as an illustrated novel means there is no depth to the story.
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, is Satrapi's second installment of her graphic novel autobiography. After reading it (can the experience of a graphic novel be adequately described as "reading"?), I felt that it was an important and vital addition to the first Persepolis installment. In Persepolis 2, Satrapi is sent to Austria for an Ayatollah-free education. She meets people unlike herself, and unlike the other Iranians she knew. She thought she was a free-thinking liberal, but that was in the context of Iranian culture, not European.
I think this book needs to be read after Persepolis 1. With this boxed set, the novels should be read together.
The detail in 2 is much greater than in 1. I would guess this is related to the richer memories of adolescence and adulthood. Satrapi is very open and blunt about her vulnerabilities and transgressions.
I feel that I need to read a Persepolis 3. That is not a bad result for any author!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Charming, riveting and important, September 5, 2007
I read these books consecutively - having bought them as a box set - and I really enjoyed them. It gives us a genuinely intimate portrait of what life was like growing up in Iran, first under the Shah's right-wing dictatorship, then during the Islamic revolution which led to a clerical state and through the war with Iraq. The two-part memoir takes us from 1980 when Marjane was 10 years old through the 1990s when she's become a woman who had endured exile at a young age and a return to her country.
Because these are illustrated novels there isn't as much depth as there would be in a traditional novel. The characters aren't fleshed out in the narrative because we have the visual element available. And the visual element is wonderful. Through the relatively simple drawings the fear, turmoil, frustration and even humor of Marjane and her friends and family are easily identified and enrich the story tremendously.
At first I had a problem with the writing style - with the direct and simple prose. However, the more I read the more I became comfortable with the style, pacing and rhythm.
I would definitely recommend that these books be read together as a valuable introduction an overview of the history and traditions of Iran, as well as for the wonderful story of a little girl growing up in an impossibly complex and frightening environment.
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