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A review by shorshewitch
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
5.0
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
My Rating: 5/5
It starts with a chapter called "The Veil" and a comic strip of "This is me". And takes us through the next 14 years with bits and pieces of Iran's war-trodden past, its Islamic Revolution, the Iraq-Iran war, the Guardians of Revolution with subtle references to Marx, Descartes, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other revolutionaries of the like. Marjane Satrapi has done a marvelous job and although this is my first graphic novel, with no reference for any comparison, I can confidently say that the experience was excellent. It provoked me to read more and more graphic novels and I ended up adding about 4 more into my cart (Haven't clicked "Pay" yet - lol) .
There is something about the picture strips that made me so familiar to the Satrapis and the Iranians. As Sujatha Govindakutty very specifically stated, I could picture everything quite clearly. The angst, the rebellion, the frustrations - the expressions were delightfully captured in the graphics and I took a full 2 days to ensure that I have gone through every expression of the characters. It would have been a day's read otherwise. But I felt the need to spend my own time on it because: 1) It was my first graphic novel and I wanted to drink in every detail and; 2) The nuances captured would have vanished had them been diluted by the need to speed read.
Before I started the novel, I had done my little research as to how could I make the most of my reading experience. I found the below link for starters:
http://www.getgraphic.org/resources/HowtoReadaGraphicNovel.pdf
It said:
A Graphic Novel Page consists of a variety of elements:
• Panels-squares or rectangles that contain a single scene
• Gutters-space between panels
• Dialog Balloons-contain communication between/among characters
• Thought Balloons-contain a character’s thoughts
• Captions-contain information about a scene or character
• Sound Effects-visual sound clues i.e.. Wonk! Pow!
One's imagination has to be strained to a different level in order to get through a graphic novel and that is exactly what I did. And after a few comic strips, it wasn't hard at all. It became easier after about 30 pages or so and in no time I was reading through it without any further hesitation.
It is a story of Marji's lost childhood, her mistakes, her gumption, her months of depression, her adulthood, her love life, her rebellion, her parents, friends and fellow Iranians. It depicts how the cultural and religious morals shape up individuals and what a cultural divide between a country and its citizens can look like. It depicts how revolution is a consequence of repression. War stories are depressing and every time I think I am done being shocked, there comes another which shocks me yet again despite of everything. Marjane, however, has managed to disturb and to joke around all at the same time.
War makes us use humor as a shield. Some hideous truths manage to shake you completely and every time, I personally start feeling grateful for being born where I am born.
My Rating: 5/5
It starts with a chapter called "The Veil" and a comic strip of "This is me". And takes us through the next 14 years with bits and pieces of Iran's war-trodden past, its Islamic Revolution, the Iraq-Iran war, the Guardians of Revolution with subtle references to Marx, Descartes, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other revolutionaries of the like. Marjane Satrapi has done a marvelous job and although this is my first graphic novel, with no reference for any comparison, I can confidently say that the experience was excellent. It provoked me to read more and more graphic novels and I ended up adding about 4 more into my cart (Haven't clicked "Pay" yet - lol) .
There is something about the picture strips that made me so familiar to the Satrapis and the Iranians. As Sujatha Govindakutty very specifically stated, I could picture everything quite clearly. The angst, the rebellion, the frustrations - the expressions were delightfully captured in the graphics and I took a full 2 days to ensure that I have gone through every expression of the characters. It would have been a day's read otherwise. But I felt the need to spend my own time on it because: 1) It was my first graphic novel and I wanted to drink in every detail and; 2) The nuances captured would have vanished had them been diluted by the need to speed read.
Before I started the novel, I had done my little research as to how could I make the most of my reading experience. I found the below link for starters:
http://www.getgraphic.org/resources/HowtoReadaGraphicNovel.pdf
It said:
A Graphic Novel Page consists of a variety of elements:
• Panels-squares or rectangles that contain a single scene
• Gutters-space between panels
• Dialog Balloons-contain communication between/among characters
• Thought Balloons-contain a character’s thoughts
• Captions-contain information about a scene or character
• Sound Effects-visual sound clues i.e.. Wonk! Pow!
One's imagination has to be strained to a different level in order to get through a graphic novel and that is exactly what I did. And after a few comic strips, it wasn't hard at all. It became easier after about 30 pages or so and in no time I was reading through it without any further hesitation.
It is a story of Marji's lost childhood, her mistakes, her gumption, her months of depression, her adulthood, her love life, her rebellion, her parents, friends and fellow Iranians. It depicts how the cultural and religious morals shape up individuals and what a cultural divide between a country and its citizens can look like. It depicts how revolution is a consequence of repression. War stories are depressing and every time I think I am done being shocked, there comes another which shocks me yet again despite of everything. Marjane, however, has managed to disturb and to joke around all at the same time.
War makes us use humor as a shield. Some hideous truths manage to shake you completely and every time, I personally start feeling grateful for being born where I am born.