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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Graphic novels are weirdly effective. |
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“I had read the first half of this book when it came out. I had remembered as one of my favorite graphic "novels". It was even better when I got to read the complete book. To discover what happened to Satrapi after she left Iran was fascinating. I just can't imagine how her parents could send her away from home. But I have never had to deal with war and fundamentalist religion.
Patty F wrote this review 5 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you have never read a graphic book, I highly recommend this one. It is excellent.”
“I'm not too into graphic novels, but I really liked this. It's very honest. I hate reading autobiographies that feel exaggerated, this one didn't.”
Jessie S wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Fascinating”
Marwa83 wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“In her memoir (the complete work is a combination of two volumes), Marjane Satrapi writes of her experiences growing up in Tehran, Iran, during the Islamic Revolution. She witnesses basic freedoms slowly begin to slip away and become crimes instead of human rights. She writes of her experiences with home, family, school, religion, war, and self. When she is a bit older, she heads off to Austria to go to school and learns many Western ideas and ways but never fully leaves behind the identify she established at home in Iran. She grows up physically and emotionally in Europe but eventually finds herself back in Iran, home at least for then. Marjane must adjust once again, only this time Tehran is much different, as Iraq's war against Iran has left its mark and Iran's religous and political extremists have left their own mark, as well. She soon realizes, much to her chagrin, that her time in Austria influenced her more than she though it did, as now some of her friends think her a woman demoralized with Western ways. Eventually Marjane takes a boyfriend and is accespted into the university to study art, where the government and religious fundamentalism have even tainted art class. Marjane and her boyfriend get married, graduate, and then get divorced a few years later when school is no longer there to hold them together. Marjane and her family decide together that present-day Iran (1994 at that time) is no place for Marjane, so Marjane says her goodbyes to her family and leaves Iran for good.
Elizabeth L wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Curriculum Use:
I like to use excerpts of this book (there are some mature parts and instances of mature language in this book) with my 12th grade AP Literature class in our Socio-Cultural Unit. In this unit, we do much of the following:
Read similarly-themed works from India, China, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey. Have students compare and contrast the works and draw correlations between the themes of each work. Students research the social, political, relious, and cultural contexts of each work and then do independent studies on a related topic.
After finishing this work and the others in this unit, I have my students compare and contrast these works to the works we read in our Feminst Criticism unit. This is a good time to devle brifely into gender studies and into modern-day feminism. One point I try to make with my students is that many people who have been deemed as feminists by thier country or generation are merely human rights advocates in the true spirit of the idea.
Also, students can evaluate the effectiveness of the artwork used in the book and form a standpoint on why they think the author chose this medium. Because the work is written in a graphic novel format, I have my students evaluate the effectiveness of the artwork and format. I have them determine what makes this graphic narrative different from others they have seen.
Then, I have them write a brief story of their own with a similar theme to the works we have read in the unit. From there, I have the students storyboard their writing and then completely transfer the story to graphic format.
This is also a good unit for my students to write a brief memoir of their own.”
“Don't know what genre this one fits into; graphic novel just doesn't seem to cut it. That said, it's a great read, whatever the genre might be. The artwork is fantastic, the autobiography is sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking and always honest.
Maurya P wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
As an aside the book also managed to dispel some of my stereotypes about Iran. If I'm right in thinking that this was a crucial objective of the book, well, mission accomplished.”
“A witty novel that interests younger reader by using pictures and comic strips to show emotion and feeling. An excellent read.”
Iman F wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“http://inkwell-reviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/complete-persepolis-by-marjane-satrapi.html
Inkwell Reviews wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
^^ Go the above url for the original and complete review ^^”
“Ever since I started reading graphic novels that recommendations for The Complete Persepolis started appearing everywhere, and so I was eager to read it.
Sofia Carvalho wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
"Persepolis" is a a compilation of the memoirs of a young iranian woman, presented in the form of a graphic novel with a very simple, yet really effective, visual style. Part of its strength certainly lies on this, since the high contrast and lack of excessive detail work really well with the story, with everything getting reduced to its essence in an extremely skillful way.
Another plus is Marjane Satrapi's character herself. She's witty, smart and politically-oriented. But the best thing about this book was the fact that it explores a situation that doesn't get discussed nearly enough. Anyone who is interested in politics and world history knows something about Iran, but I, for one, knew little about the actual lives of iranians. The news that reach the rest of the world can never quite grasp what it's like to live in the middle of a conflict. Here we see the perceptions of people who try to get through their everyday lives, and we get to see what is common everywhere, and at the same time, those things that are unique to their situation. I admit that after I finished reading I started looking at Iran in a different way, (hopefully) understanding it a bit more.
This book is divided into two parts (previously published seperately): "The Story of a Childhood" and "The Story of a Return". At I was reading I was rather disappointed with the second one, but as I've had more time to think about it my opinion has changed. The first one is much more politicized, but it's also very one-sided - she is not yet old enough to really grasp everything that is going on around her, but nonetheless her views are shaped by what she sees happening to her family and their way of life. On the second part, she is growing up, and things reveal themselves to be much more complicated than they seemed. Her convictions get challenged, and we follow through the various conflicts in a much more personal, yet still very politicized way. Ultimately, it becomes more about her than about Iran, and we're reminded that this is only one personal story in a million possible ones.”
“My all time favorite book.”
Anneliese M wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Book vs. movie: Tie”
Stephanie B wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
