This graphic novel is a bittersweet autobiography set against the backdrop of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Swetha Venkatramani shares a review of this visual read.
Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is a coming of age story that strikes an intimate chord with the reader by being cleverly humorous and blatantly tragic all at once. Satrapi shatters stereotypes of Iran’s radical Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, by giving the reader an honest insight into modern pre-war life. The author portrays how the West’s schemes for the oil rich country and later, the Islamic Revolution, halted Iran’s progress into a brighter future.
Divided into The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return, Persepolis highlights the perplexing discrepancies between home life and public life during and after the war between Iran and Iraq. The protagonist is a free spirited child born into a family of forward thinking Marxists. The 10 year old Satrapi reveals to the reader her surprisingly unconventional ambition of becoming a Prophet to heal her Grandmother’s aching knees. We are introduced to her neighbours, love for Pink Floyd, demin jackets, teachers who force students to cover their heads with scarves and more. She makes the reader connect with her family, friends, school life, neighbours and then takes it all away, making us feel the pain of her broken dreams.
The Story of a Return paints a candid picture of Satrapi’s high school years in Vienna as she navigates life through her teens, peer pressure, smoking and cultural differences. The author returns to Iran and sees people trying to rebuild their life, and attempts to do the same for herself. Whether or not she succeeds in this is what the rest of the plot deals with.
For any person remotely connected to the fields of media, communication or publishing, Persepolis is a shining example of how simple illustrations and a simpler style of writing can easily tackle complex subjects that rock the world even today. This book is a revealing read that effortlessly brings together the two turbulent themes of bildungsroman (coming of age) and religious politics.
Tags: bildungsroman, Communications, graphic novel, Iran, Iraq, Islamic Revolution, Marjane Satrapi, media, oil, peer pressure, Persepolis, publishing, religious politics, Satrapi
