The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 2004 341 Pages 5/5 Why did I let this one sit on my TBR shelf for so long? Seriously, I give you permission for smacking me for that...come on, Nymeth..you know you want to, lol. Needless to say, I loved this book! It was my last read for the read-a-thon (other 5 reviews in this post) and I was hoping to finish it...but I couldn't stay awake :( So I finished it last night. Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's biography of sorts of her time growing up in Tehran and her travels to Austria. It's told in the Graphic Novel format and I can't imagine a better way to tell this story! It's quite a fantastic story. It's sad, it's humorous, it's deeply meaningful. Satrapi grew up in Tehran as Iran was at war and a new revolution was taking place. Though it wasn't a positive revolution. Rights were being taken away from women and they were forced to wear the veil at all times. Satrapi rebelled and got in trouble because of this in many places. Her parents sent her to live with relatives in Austria to protect her from the ever encroaching war and attacks on the city. It's when she moves to Austria that I found the book to be most powerful. We see the blatant racism that's directed towards her, the misunderstandings of her culture, the expectations to be something that she is not. It was really quite sad, but Satrapi always kept a sense of humor...in her writing at least. I think that she would be an extremely interesting person to meet. I'd love to find her at a signing one day! This is a book that tackles all of the rough issues in a direct way. Satrapi tells an honest story through her exquisite art, a style that is instantly identifiable as her own. Persepolis has been made into a movie too! I need to check it out. I think that this would be a fantastic introduction to graphic novels. It's certainly a page turner and it educated me so much on middle eastern culture. Well done, Ms. Satrapi! Other Views and Opinions: Small World Reads What Kate's Reading Madeleine's Book Blog The Hidden Side of a Leaf (Persepolis 2) (Persepolis 1) Out of the Blue (Persepolis 2) Care's Online Book Club An Adventure in Reading The Book Nest At Home With Books (Persepolis 2) (Persepolis 1) Books For Breakfast Bart's Bookshelf Fizzy Thoughts Books of Mee (Persepolis 2) (Persepolis 1) Valentina's Room SomeReads B&B Ex Libris Things Mean A Lot Let me know if I missed yours...I know there are MANY more out there!