Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Hardback Edition

I initially chose to read Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi for the following reasons:

1. Graphic novels are ones that I don't normally read... So in an effort to read more graphic novels, I selected Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi to read as it sounded like an interesting book.

2. I am also interested in learning more about other cultures that I am not that familiar with and Iran is certainly a country I do not know very much about... Or what it might be like to grow up in their culture.

3. I've also learned that Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi has been a banned/challenged book. and since I am participating in the 2015 Banned Book Reading Challenge, I thought this would be a perfect book for the 2015 Banned Book Reading Challenge.

The following is a plot summary for Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi from Amazon's website:

Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane’s child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, through laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

So, what did I like about Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi? I loved the artwork in this particular graphic novel, as it's really well done. However, the writing is way too small, so I had to use a magnifier to read most of the dialogue throughout the entire book, which sucked to say the least!

I loved the character of young Marjane in Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. It must have been difficult growing up during the Islamic Revolution. I found it interesting to read how a young person deals with and views a revolution. I look forward to reading the second book in the series titled Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi.

I am giving Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars. Until my next post, happy reading!!