How I was tricked into reading an Iranian masterpiece.
Written: Sep 27 '07 (Updated Sep 27 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Pictures make it easier to understand if you've had too much to drink.
Cons: Abrupt ending. Inspires uncomfortable feelings. References to 80's New Wave.
The Bottom Line: Biography that sucks you in, wraps you in new culture then craps you out a victim of an intellectual graphic novel. Warning: Do not read under influence of Chicken Wings.
SpookyMonkey's Full Review: Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis 1
Look! A bullet almost hit my wife's cheek. Liberty is priceless!
I have a hard time believing that someone of your stellar and overwhelming intellect could be tricked or otherwise cajoled into doing anything against your will.
Not without the involvement of a sassy wine cooler, no.
So what's with the title?
Allow me a digression - some years ago in college, I registered for a course concerning the complexities and techniques employed by those writing traveling narratives. The class was taught by an interesting gentleman who preferred to teach class in an unconventional way - we'd walk in and he'd ask us what we wanted to talk about. And that was what we discussed. Most of the time I wanted to talk about Herman's Head and the chick with three breasts from Total Recall so I was usually left out of the conversations, but he always found a way to relate the first discussed topic to the reading materials we were covering in the class.
Anyway, after two months of not really having to pay attention, the class was given a reading list and told to pick one book for a paper due the following week. Come Tuesday of that week and I've yet to pick a book, let alone think of a topic. In a mad scramble, I emptied the contents of my sofa and car, came up with eighty-seven dollars and twelve cents and went to the local bookstore.
...And after eating my own weight in wings and downing four pitchers of beer en route to the bookstore (Thank you, CJ's unlimited wings Tuesdays!), I perused the shelves, praying I'd find one title on the list (which was soaked in teriyaki and nuclear explosive hot sauce) before it closed. Shuffling around in a tryptophan coma, I find several of the books on the list. All of them had a lot of words in them with very small print. Nooooooo! wailed my brain. The last thing I wanted to do was -read- a friggin' book for a paper. What kind of convention-abiding wuss did the world take me for?
Then I laid eyes on it. Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi. A match. I opened it and my stomach would have leapt out of my mouth if it had not been laden with shredded chicken parts and Michelob. Pictures. Lots of pictures. Cartoons, even. On every page! No extended quotations, no diatribes, no messy extended narratives or twelve-syllable conjecturing. Just scribbly, inky goodness. I paid and rumbled home.
That was a touching story. I like the part where you bought books while you were drunk.
That seems to be everyone's favorite part.
...but I don't like the part where you're almost a thousand words into this bloody review and I don't even know what it's about.
Persepolis is an autobiography of sorts. Satrapi tells the story of her childhood as though it was being told in the now - through the eyes of an innocent growing up in Iran during one of the most frightening social uprisings in history. The story both written and illustrated by Satrapi and presented to the reader as a graphic novel.
As readers, we experience a young girl's confusion at the rigid social conformity that dictates her life while being offered a taste of the glamor and excess of the enticing Western lifestyle. Satrapi's entwines her own childhood naivete with an omniscient view of the world to show the brutality that went unchecked in her life. As a reader, you can't help but to recoil at what occurs around the lives of the young (who remain wholly unaware) but awed at how insightful they are in their base assumptions of the world. Through air raids, murdered neighbors, political assassinations and good ol' rock and roll, Satrapi grows up.
Worst comic ever.
No, I believe that title belongs to Street Fighter: the Movie - the Comic.
That doesn't exist. Please God, tell me it doesn't exist.
Alrighty, getting back on track here - Satrapi also shows her character maturing and she slowly understands the importance of the events in her life. As she matures, her perspective matures. She slowly tries to take control of her life and the circumstances surrounding it.
Does she get mutant powers and fight crime?
No.
Does she stalk the night in a Batman suit?
No.
Dude, this comic sucks.
Suit yourself.
Persepolis does end abruptly, however. Sequels have been written (and are very much deserved) discussing some resolution to the story. So if you like what you've read, there is additional material.
What do you think her target audience is here?
Despite the fact that this looks like a comic, this would have the greatest impact on those familiar with the Iranian revolution in the late 70's/early 80's. Seeing video footage of what was going on from the outside seems bloodier and more cruel once one becomes aware of what is happening inside.
One of the most impressive things about the story is Satrapi's ability to retain a sense of humor throughout the novel, despite the subject matter. Most of it is played through her innocence, but there is genuine moments of absurdity and fondness through the madness.
I'm still not really convinced.
Considering this book is only 154 pages, you could read it in an hour, two tops. It's light reading that packs a heavier emotional punch than most will be prepared for. The scope of the book is massive as one narrative thread slowly becomes a historical account of an entire country.
Fine. Two hours. Lots of pictures. Jokes. I'll bite.
I only got a B on the paper though. I blame my inability to track down a good set of Cliff's Notes.
Then I don't think you're qualified to review this book.
Well I think I'm qualified to review your face - and it sucks! Ha!
Is there anything you can relate this to?
My knowledge of Iranian literature isn't very broad (one dimensional, to be precise) so I can't put it anywhere onto that spectrum. It's more than a biography and it's exceptionally depressing. You'll laugh at inappropriate moments. You'll feel guilty. It reminds me of Charlie Brown for some reason. I don't really know why.
Charlie Brown? In Tehran?
Yeah. It's like a sketch where Charlie Brown tries to kick the football in Tehran except Lucy keeps pulling it away.
I think that's the weirdest simile ever written on epinions.
Most likely.
General Biography & Autobiography - Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, P...More at Barnes and Noble
Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi s wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran d...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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