Persepolis

Author:Marjane Satrapi

ISBN:978-0375714832

Publication Information:Pantheon

Plot Summary: Persepolis is a graphic novel about Marjane Satrapi's life as a child in Iran from the ages of 6 through 14, when she lived through the war between Iran and Iraq. The child of two marxists, Satrapi was taught to question the Islamic revolution, which begins a series of discussions that are both political and religious in nature with Marjane and her friends. Using the Islmaic Revolution as a jump off point, Satrapi begins to discover other revolutions and their leaders, as well as explore different religious beliefs. Through discussions with her family, friends and teachers, she begins to learn more about her country's history, why people are fighting for what they are fighting for, and different political ideologies. Through all this, she also learns about her family's vibrant political past, and begins to develop her own political point of view. The book ends as a war begins. In the sequel, the reader finds that Marjane has been sent to go to school in Europe, to escape the war.

Critical Evaluation: Persepolis is an interesting departure from traditional graphic novels that are geared towards superheros and fantasy. Through simply drawn black and white pictures, Satrapi was able to effectively give the readers an overview of her life in Iran during a revolution, the basic ideals that each side was fighting for, and a quick history of both her family and her country's history. The graphic novel is simultaneously amusing, educational, insightful and deep. This is a particularly welcome memoir for young adult bookshelves because it provides a middle eastern perspective not often found in YA works in a very easy to digest format. Even the most reluctant readers should be able to to get through this mid sized graphic novel, and most likely, will learn a lot about Iranian history before they are through. Highly recommended, particularly if teachers can work it into a World History curriculum.

Reader's Annotation: Marjane Satrapi grew up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. This is her story of growing up during a revolution.

Author Information: Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian illustrator and writer who was born and raised in Tehran. In high school, she was sent to a boarding school in Vienna, and spent the rest of her teenage years in Europe. She eventually moved to Strasborg, where she studied illustration and became a comic book artist. She currently lives in Paris, and her illustrations are regularly featured in various periodicals. Persepolis has been translated into many languages and has won several awards. In 2007, the graphic novel was adapted into a feature length film, where it was highly regarded at the Cannes Film Festival, and nominated for an Academy Award. (Information taken from the author's agency's website http://www.barclayagency.com/satrapi.html).

Curricular Ties: World History

Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir

Book talking ideas:

• Why did Marji admire her Uncle Anoosh so much?
• Who was your favorite character? Why?
• What did you think about Mehri's romance with the neighborhood boy?
  

Challenge issues: Violence

• Familiarize yourself with the book and its contents.
• Check the library for specific policies on challenged books.
• Check the ALA website for advice on how to respond and react when a book has been challenged. (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm)
  
• Find positive reviews from reputable websites.
• Ask the challenger for their specific objections and try to address them using information from the above research.

Interest Age:Grades 10 and up

Why I selected this piece: This is a great graphic novel that doesn't focus on superheros, but instead on a coming of age story about a girl in Iran.