The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
2004
341 Pages
5/5
Why did I let this one sit on my TBR shelf for so long? Seriously, I give you permission for smacking me for that…come on, Nymeth..you know you want to, lol. Needless to say, I loved this book! It was my last read for the read-a-thon (other 5 reviews in this post) and I was hoping to finish it…but I couldn’t stay awake 
So I finished it last night.
Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s biography of sorts of her time growing up in Tehran and her travels to Austria. It’s told in the Graphic Novel format and I can’t imagine a better way to tell this story! It’s quite a fantastic story. It’s sad, it’s humorous, it’s deeply meaningful. Satrapi grew up in Tehran as Iran was at war and a new revolution was taking place. Though it wasn’t a positive revolution. Rights were being taken away from women and they were forced to wear the veil at all times. Satrapi rebelled and got in trouble because of this in many places. Her parents sent her to live with relatives in Austria to protect her from the ever encroaching war and attacks on the city.
It’s when she moves to Austria that I found the book to be most powerful. We see the blatant racism that’s directed towards her, the misunderstandings of her culture, the expectations to be something that she is not. It was really quite sad, but Satrapi always kept a sense of humor…in her writing at least. I think that she would be an extremely interesting person to meet. I’d love to find her at a signing one day!
This is a book that tackles all of the rough issues in a direct way. Satrapi tells an honest story through her exquisite art, a style that is instantly identifiable as her own. Persepolis has been made into a movie too! I need to check it out. I think that this would be a fantastic introduction to graphic novels. It’s certainly a page turner and it educated me so much on middle eastern culture. Well done, Ms. Satrapi!
Other Views and Opinions:
Small World Reads
What Kate’s Reading
Madeleine’s Book Blog
The Hidden Side of a Leaf (Persepolis 2) (Persepolis 1)
Out of the Blue (Persepolis 2)
Care’s Online Book Club
An Adventure in Reading
The Book Nest
At Home With Books (Persepolis 2) (Persepolis 1)
Books For Breakfast
Bart’s Bookshelf
Fizzy Thoughts
Books of Mee (Persepolis 2) (Persepolis 1)
Valentina’s Room
SomeReads
B&B Ex Libris
Things Mean A Lot
Let me know if I missed yours…I know there are MANY more out there!
Looks good. I’ll have to see if the library has it. Guess what I finished last night
Yes, I finished The Bone Doll’s Twin! I am so happy that I went ahead and ordered the other two books. Now I can get some satisfaction 
Thwap. (That’s me smacking you upside the head.)
Although to be fair, I waited almost as long, and had similar feelings. And I haven’t seen the movie, either.
I read Persepolis during the read-a-thon, too, but haven’t yet written my notes. I will likely just touch on both and then link to all of you, as so many have already written reviews.
Becky, YAY!! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Bone Doll’s Twin. I am SO thrilled to hear that you seemed to like it though
I always get so nervous when people read books that I’ve recommended.
Softdrink, Thanks, I needed that
We should have a Twitter Persepolis movie watching marathon!
Claire, I can’t wait to see what you thought of it! There are SO many reviews of that one, lol. I started looking at them all on the google book blog search and gave up after the second page :p
I read both of these books a couple years ago. They were really good! I have read all of her books now, and I think Satrapi is a fabulous writer/drawer. I think everyone should read these!
I’m glad you liked it! I’d love to meet Marjane Satrapi too,she sounds like someone who has a beautiful mind.
I think this was a perfect read-a-thon book! Should be in my recommended list of books for next time. I remember I started reading it and I never wanted to put it down.
I’ll slap you if Nymeth doesn’t want to!! LOL!! I loved her 2 books about growing up in Iran and abroad. It really gave me insight into the life of a girl, and women in general in Iran. Not a place I would want to have grown up in. I especially loved how she would always ask her parents to bring back western “stuff” for her when they went on vacations. Overall, this is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. Have you read Maus I and II?
I’ve been resisting these ones, thinking I’ll just skip to Embroideries. But now you have me reconsidering…of course, I also have no interest in the Maus books, so maybe I’ll just keep up my graphic novel illiteracy. :p
Hornby reads and reviews this in Housekeeping vs. the Dirt and also has a sample in there, which was fun to read. I’d like to get to this someday…need to catch up with my other comics and graphic novels first though!
I’m glad to hear that it’s most powerful when she moves to Austria. I loved the first one but haven’t gotten around to the 2nd yet, I was afraid it couldn’t possibly live up to the first. If you’re interested in adding my review, I’d appreciate it!
http://bookmineset.blogspot.com/2009/02/readers-diary-460-marjane-satrapi.html
Glad you enjoyed it Chris, it’s a truly fantastic read.
I think it is Satrapi’s humour that I enjoyed. Tackling what must have been quite a difficult childhood but with enough sensitivity and wit to gain the interest of any reader, regardless of your knowledge of Iran. Glad you enjoyed it! I still have not seen the film but I hear it is very good.
Mine’s been sitting on my shelf for far too long, too. No good excuse…just the too many books thing. This was a wonderful review, Chris!
Glad you enjoyed it. The film is worth watching too although it is pretty much an animated version of the book!
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