Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
I finished another book for
ljbookbingo . Fulfilling the non-fiction square is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I vaguely remember a couple of years ago seeing the commercials for the cartoon they made about it. So when I found the book at the thrift store I picked it up as it looked interesting.
"Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up." -Amazon book descripton
I loved this book. This graphic novel starts when Strapi is still a child so you get a child's perspective on Iran and the revolution. So there is a bluntness to her narrative because children haven't learned to soften or couch their words. The story she tells is at times very hard to read. The brutality that was visited on the Iranian dissenters was awful and the words mixed with the black and white drawings really pulls the reader into the story, in a way that just words wouldn't have. But what makes this book extra special is that you get to see moments within the Strapi family and how they deal with the ever changing world around them. I fell in love with her parents and their extended family.
This book is actually a combination of two previous books. So the first half is her childhood and the second half deals with her separation from her parents when they send her to Austria to keep her safe and then when Strapi returns to try to live in Iran once again.
Nothing I say is actually going to do this book justice it is so so good. I highly recommend it.
This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/36867.html
ljbookbingo . Fulfilling the non-fiction square is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I vaguely remember a couple of years ago seeing the commercials for the cartoon they made about it. So when I found the book at the thrift store I picked it up as it looked interesting.
"Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up." -Amazon book descripton
I loved this book. This graphic novel starts when Strapi is still a child so you get a child's perspective on Iran and the revolution. So there is a bluntness to her narrative because children haven't learned to soften or couch their words. The story she tells is at times very hard to read. The brutality that was visited on the Iranian dissenters was awful and the words mixed with the black and white drawings really pulls the reader into the story, in a way that just words wouldn't have. But what makes this book extra special is that you get to see moments within the Strapi family and how they deal with the ever changing world around them. I fell in love with her parents and their extended family.
This book is actually a combination of two previous books. So the first half is her childhood and the second half deals with her separation from her parents when they send her to Austria to keep her safe and then when Strapi returns to try to live in Iran once again.
Nothing I say is actually going to do this book justice it is so so good. I highly recommend it.
This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/36867.html