Book Review: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This quirky and intense autobiographical b/w graphic novel tells of the author's childhood in Iran beginning during the fall of the Shah in 1980. In the opening scene, Satrapi and her schoolmates romp in the playground, using the veils that the school has just issued them as toys.

Her parents are active in the revolution against the Shah's government. Satrapi herself is a descendant of the last emperor of Iran. Her wealthy socialist parents attend demonstrations and educate their daughter in Marxism even as she daydreams of becoming a prophet.

But as the revolution progresses, the Islamist forces turn sentiment against the wealthy and the intellectuals, and Satrapi's family becomes the target of repressive forces.

Satrapi listens to smuggled tapes of Michael Jackson, Iron Maiden, and Kim Wilde while the war with Iraq devastates the country and her parents become increasingly desperate to find a way to protect her.

The black and white art, in small simple panels, is stark and effective, conveying a world that has become a bizarre and unfamiliar cartoon to a girl whose childhood had been one of love, learning, and safety. Much of what Satrapi experiences is the same for teenagers everywhere, and the mix of the familiarity and the surreal is what gives this story much of its power.