Persepolis

It took me a while but I finally read The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Lots of people really loved this unusual memoir / graphic novel but I had my doubts about it at first and still do really. To be honest, I wasn’t that interested in this story despite the rave reviews and critical acclaim because I’m not that into coming of age stories, nor am I into politics, Iran or Satrapi’s drawing style.

What makes this book unique however, is the way Satrapi’s tells one of the darker chapter’s in Iranian history. By using herself, as an innocent child and troubled adolescent, as the protagonist we get a very humane yet fragmented look at the events that occurred. The format of the graphic novel is an interesting way to tell such a tale but it’s not that unusual if we look at Art Spiegelman’s historical and political rodent infested masterpiece Maus or Craig Thompson’s beautiful adolescent memoir Blankets.

Satrapi’s drawings are simple, humorous and in black and white adding clarity and compassion to her rambunctious youth but they are by no means dazzling. Drawing such a lengthy memoir is quite an impressive endeavor and a wonderful way of making an otherwise troubling subject mainstream. Sadly, for me this was the only reason why I’d read it, the combo of form and content.

Like the drawings, the story wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Having no idea what happened in eighties until early nineties Iran, made it very interesting. The injustices, hypocrisy, political dogma and their impact upon humanity gave this graphic novel unusual depth.

Satrapi was also a very funny an enthusiastic protagonist but as there is so much ground to cover, that the other characters become merely ornamental and the story of a young women growing up trying to live a full, free and independent life is not that original anymore.

Persepolis is honest, entertaining and informative. It’s great if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary or a quick read. If you only want to check out what all the fuss was about, watch the movie instead.