A picture is worth a thousand words. This graphic novel impacts the historical references of the Islamic Revolution from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl from Iran.
“Persepolis” is a heart-wrenching memoir of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood. Growing up in a terrible time period in Iran; during the time of the Islamic Revolution, she experienced many hardships. Yet she had to keep on pushing through and let herself experience every bit of emotion: happy or sad, laughter or grief. Satrapi lived life without a second to spare.
Although this genre of books isn’t a favorite of mine, the history of the Islamic Revolution was interesting to read about throughout the course of the comic strip. The images of black and white portrayed with the vivid commentary of the little girl gave the ups and downs towards the display of what went on during this time period. Marji is experiencing firsthand what herself, family, friends, school, village, country, and the world views are towards this devastating historical happening and the toll it is taking on her surroundings.
An English professor here at Green River, Avis Adams introduced me to this book. Adams shockingly informed me that this book is considered a form of children’s literature because the protagonist is a child and also how the book is written in a graphic format. Outrageously on page 74 it states, “They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked. And then thrown in the garbage.” This vulgar word choice, in my opinion, should not be allowed to be viewed by children; although it is an interesting book for young adult readers.
When I was first introduced to this book, it didn’t spark any passion in my mind to read it. The cover was plain looking, red and black designs. The comic style is what made this novel pop out. Towards the climax of the story, it really got the juices flowing and the storyline expressed enlightenment and intrigued me to keep going. It seemed as though I was looking on through the shadows of Satrapi and how she managed to experience these events moment by moment in the seconds of survival during the terrible times.
“Persepolis” was difficult to put down. It kept me wanting more and more details about every second that went by in Satrapi’s life. Each image brought fear and excitement to my eyes. There was a brave voice in Satrapi’s memoir; the best advice that was given was spoken by Satrapi’s grandmother on page 150, “In life you’ll meet a lot of jerks. It they hurt you tell yourself that it’s because they’re stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance…always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.” This advice was bittersweet and taken to my heart.
The 2008-2009 One Book—One Community book is “Persepolis”. According to the Green River library website this means that, “A One Book program encourages a community to read one book together at the same time.” Therefore, the Green River campus has joined together with Auburn Mountainview High School and the Auburn branch of the King County Library System to read and share the triumphs and tribulations of “Persepolis” by Satrapi. Throughout this academic school year, discussion groups will meet to talk about this book and the impact that it is having on individuals. To obtain a copy of “Persepolis” contact the Green River library.
The novel is brilliant and worth reading. This genre presented by Satrapi, is more than an autobiography of her life; it is a memoir of historically, politically, and comically what she went through at such a young age. This book leaves the reader hanging in anticipation because the author wants to encourage readers to seek out the sequel.
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