4 Stars for Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Summary:

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love

Review:

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is an outstanding memoir told from a child growing up in Iran when everyday freedoms were banned. Iranians couldn’t play cards, listen to rock-n-roll, or even buy a favorite boy band poster. Unfortunate, because Satrapi’s personality embraced freedom; she often found herself in trouble with her superiors. An example would be not wearing her veil correctly exposing hair. Her father, another rebellious sort believing in freedom, once told one of Satrapi’s teachers to shave her mustache since she found hair so provocative.

Now, that is humor, and in the midst of everything Satrapi endured, watching her neighbors die, seeing relatives tortured, and wearing a veil during ninety degree heat. Sweating profusely beneath the veil was a sardonic little girl embracing her individual, and she did it with humor. The child-like drawings accented this humor in a way a straight narrative could not, but at the same time they showed a darker view, one with a man cut to pieces, and knifes dripping with blood. The darker tone of Persepolis reminded me of how The Diary of Anne Frank hit me when I read it as a young girl, the fear, the gratitude for my own freedoms, and the overwhelming need to hold onto the goodness in humanity.

Despite Anne’s shortened life, her diary felt complete. This is where I felt like Persepolis fell short for me. There should have been more. I wanted to know more about her being the great-granddaughter of an Iranian Emperor, and I would have liked to see the philosophy of Marx tied into the loss of that crown. There was a deep underlying irony between a rich life of vanity, and one Marx proposed making people labor to avoid society’s alienation. I would have liked to see this two contradicting ideas explored further.

However, wanting more in the Persepolis, only meant the less given was brilliant. The simple drawings, simple questioning of a young girl, and finally the simple conclusions drawn by her in this turbulent time of her life worked to ignite passion for the little freedoms  I enjoy in my life, not wearing a veil is definitely one for me. Vainly, I love my hair, and while I move toward the age of fifty (in the short years to come) I don’t think its especially provocative, but it is mine and it is my freedom to do with it as I like. I recommend Persepolis to anyone who wants to appreciate freedom, and especially to younger people who are still searching for the freedoms designed to make them who they are as individuals.