Book Review-Persepolis

Persepolis, as the cover reads, is the story of a childhood. A childhood filled with protests, war, and revolutionaries, but told through a young adult’s eyes and thoughts. Through words and illustrations Marjane Satrapi tells of her experiences as a teen in Iran during the Islamic revolution. The reader watches as Marjane struggles to find her identity as a young woman in a world of turmoil while at the same time trying to figure our the people she loves and those that are intent on making their lives miserable. The readers feels involved in the story as if they were beside Marjane as she questions her faith, her government, and yes, even her father.

While Marjane is in the midst of a relentless revolution, the reader gets the chance to see all of this through a young adult’s experiences. She is still a normal teenager. While she is busy going to protests and hating having to wear a veil, she is also buying Michael Jackson buttons and posters of American rock stars are hanging in her bedroom. While it does not make the revolution any less severe it is nice to see it from her perspective. Young adults may not be able to identify with what she is going through, but they can probably identify with the way she thinks about the events and handles certain situations.

What Marjane does not write she shows through the illustrations of the graphic novel. In certain frames the pictures tell so much more than the words. They tell the information the author could not put into words, such as revolutionaries being tortured and the remains of her friend’s house that was demolished during an attack. For this reason and the concepts presented by Marjane, such as communism and religion, along with some strong language this book is more suited to older readers, probably high school age. Even with these age groups there will still be many concepts they will need explained and discussed.

Overall a beautifully written and illustrated book that will open the eyes of young adults and adults alike to the events Marjane and her friends and family witnessed and lived through.

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Persepolis

I enjoyed reading Persepolis. I think it is the story of a childhood that every young adult in America should read. The book was very entertaining and insightful all the way through. I am glad that Marjane Satrapi decided to write a little bit about the history of Iran before the book began because I think most students in America, as well as many adults like myself, do not know the full story of Iran. I think after 9/11 there has been a lot of hatred toward these people without knowing their background, who they really are, and what they actually stand for as people. I think it would really open student’s eyes and benefit them to read this book.
Aside from the significance to see another culture’s way of life, this book was very entertaining. While many parts were sad there was still the innocence of a little girl. I enjoyed how the reader was able to see things through her eyes. While she considered herself a revolutionary she was still a teenage girl. She still wanted to hang up posters of bands, go shopping and attend parties. I think this makes her story something younger readers can identify with. Not necessarily the turmoil of the country, but how she dealt with it.
I also enjoyed the emphasis she and her parents placed on education. It was her doorway to success. She knew this and in order to understand what was going on she read many books and kept herself updated on what was going on in the country.
Something I did not understand completely was her association with religion. At the beginning she spoke to and saw God all of the time and she wanted to be a prophet. While everyone doubted her and told her women could not be prophets she stood strong. However, after many bad things happened she told God to leave and never come back. I hoped that there would be something else with God in the story. I was hoping for kind of closure or a tie in to explain why she never spoke to him again. While it definitely showed her spirit and determination, I felt like I was left hanging after she told God to leave and nothing else was mentioned about this incident.
Also, the end of the story really got to me. While I had a feeling her parents were eventually going to send her away I didn’t think there was any closure in the either. I understand and agree that not every story can or should have a happy ending, but this one really left me hanging. She just left and then saw her father carrying her mother away. I wish that I could have known what happened after that.
I would recommend this book for higher grade level students. I don’t know if I would even bring it into a middle school classroom. I think high school students would know how to understand and use this information whereas younger students might not.