Neil Fein's Blog

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi
Translated by Mattias Ripa and Blake Ferris

In 1979, Iran overthrew it's leader, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The revolution looked to religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for leadership. The country subsequently implemented many fundamentalist islamic laws, including the continued loss of freedom of speech, nearly mandatory religious schools for children, and a strict dress code for men and women. The hostage crisis in the American embassy in Tehran took place shortly thereafter.

Marjane Satrapi was a child when these events took place. Her experiences as a child in Iran are both disturbing and her story is compelling. She starts the story by showing us her first class picture wearing a veil; she looks almost identical to the other students. The state-sponsored loss of individuality will be particularly shocking to American readers.

The art in this graphic novel is reminiscent of woodcuts in its simplicity. The stories themselves follow suit; they appear to be very simple tales, called "The Trip" or "The Letter", perhaps. But make no mistake, this is a novel. The structure is well-thought out, and the characters are vivid. Her parents in particular are standout characters.

Ms. Satrapi keeps the reader so focused on the individual stories that it's easy to not quite notice how badly freedoms are being eroded. While the rule of the Shah was hardly a democracy, life under the Ayatollah was worse. The obvious message is there, but it doesn't make the book heavy-handed.

Persepolis is a true classic of the fields of both graphic literature and political writing.