Review: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Complete Persepolis was like nothing that I had ever read before. An autobiography written as a beautifully illustrate graphic novel. And not only that, but what an autobiography. Marjane was an outspoken child of Marxists during the revolution in Iran. She was also the great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor, and her uncle was exiled for a time and later executed. In this novel, she writes of a childhood richly entwined with a revolution and politics. She witnessed all kinds of hypocrisies and was eventually sent away by her parents to study in Europe. (There, she encounters many adventures, including discrimination and feeling like a stranger in a very different place, before eventually becoming someone who she thinks that her family will be ashamed of.) Eventually, she returns to Iran, finds love, studies at university and remains consistently strong and outspoken throughout, against a number of odds, before realising that being married, and living in the new Iran is not for her, journeying back to Europe where a new life will await ...

As I said, this was nothing like I had read before, though I am extremely glad that I read it. This book gave me insight to a side of Iran that I had not truly seen or understood before. I also have a lot of admiration for the author because of her resounding strength. I think this would be a very useful resource for high school students studying modern history.

Highly, Highly recommended.   

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