Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi

Review By: Shelby

I just picked up this book for two reasons:

1. it was $1

2. I like comics

Anyway this very smart comic tells the story of a girl who grew up in Iran when they were in war with Iraq and when they had taken people hostage at the American embassy.

Marji, the protagonist, is a young only child who lives with her mom and dad. She is smart and outspoken as a result of the environment of her home: her mom and dad are very opinionated and take everything with a grain of salt. also they are very modern.

Marji watches her home become like a backwards, scary place. She is young so she is torn between her love for her country and her modern ideals. She is fired up and wants to fight when she first learns of the war, but she is also proud of her relatives for being in jail because they stood up for their ideals. She even goes against her parents' wishes and protests! (very dangerous).

Marjane is still just a teenager, so she of course, has to rebel. She rebels against her parents and against the oppressive, extremist government, wearing jeans, and sneakers under her veil while singing along with Michael Jackson, Guns N Roses, and Kim Wilde.

Anyway, this may be a comic, but just because it's a comic doesn't mean it's some throwaway book. Marji tells the story of her childhood through simply illustrated anecdotes. They don't take away from the seriousness of the real-life events, they rather make them more personal... telling them from a child's point of view. So even though it's not batman, there certainly is a hero.

This book has been made into a movie, and there is also a 2nd part (comic).