By: Marjane SatrapiThese two books comprise the autobiography of author Marjane Satrapi's life growing up in Iran. Persepolis 1 is the story of her life as a child, growing up during the cultural revolution. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return is about Satrapi's return to Iran as a teenager after being sent to Austria to escape the lunacy of the regime.
Both books provide an excellent and in depth view of life in Iran in a time when it is caught between fundamentalism and westernization. It portrays the country in a way rarely seen in the west- from the point of view of a child who wants to listen to rock music and dress in modern fashions. Whose immediate family opposes the mullahs in secret, and whose relatives do in the open, and pay the consequences. The illustration however, doesn't seem to add much to the story. Satrapi's images are very plain, with most drawn from a similar point of view and distance from the subject. The illustrations simply support the story. Unlike Moonshadow, the images and the text do not seem to be inexorably linked.
Overall a good read, specifically for the insight into life in Iran, over the period of about 20 years; but as a graphic novel, it doesn't have a life of its own.
2 comments:
These books are getting an animated movie release this year. I think it's already out in Europe and should be released in the US later this year.
well, i'd be interested to see it, but for my money, there are a lot of other graphic novels that would make better movies. thanks for the heads up!
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