Persepolis: Graphic Novel Review

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return, is a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. Originally published in France in 2002,Persepol is an autobiographical graphic novel about Marjane upbringing in 1980′s Iran.

The Graphic Novel as a whole is made of short snippets, slice of life stories, woven together to tell of her coming of age. The first half of the book is the strongest and most endearing. Marjane is a smart, adorable, and outspoken child who is raised by intellectual parents. As a small child her and her friends play revolutionaries, pretending to be Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and Trotsky. She also has conversations with God as she dreams of being a prophet.

Her dreams and headstrong nature run head on into the fundamentalist totalitarian regime of Iran. Throughout the story of her childhood, we see the people of Iran struggle through the hardships of the Iran/Iraq war, and the oppressive rules of their own government, including the capture, torture and murder of it’s own citizens. Marjane’s parents must hide alcohol and parties are held in secret. Marjane and her friends listen to illegal cassette tapes of Michael Jackson and other 80s pop stars, and hide western clothing like jeans and sneakers beneath their traditional outfits. This is deadly serious, as people are beaten and arrested for violating these rules. In one tense moment two women from the Guardians of the Revolution threaten to arrest a teenage Marjane over her clothes. She could have been taken to “Committee” where she would have been held and tortured for days without her parents being informed. Her offenses were wearing a denim jacket, jeans, a Michael Jackson badge, and Nike sneakers (They thought Nike was punk). She talks her way out of it. Rattled by the experience but too afraid to tell her parents about it, she vents by blasting the forgotten 80s hit “We’re the kids inAmerica.” A more comical but non the less serious incident is when her parents return from a trip to Turkey. Her father smuggled Iron Maiden posters for his daughter in the lining of his coat. He looks ridiculous going through customs but he gets away. Along the way her mother is shocked to find her father actually likes Iron Maiden.

The art style is very simplistic, similar to Manga style where faces are drawn without much detail. In other stories I’ve read like this I found that style hurts the more dramatic/serious moments, but it’s not so much the case here.

Perhaps the most powerful moment of the book is when she’s older and leaves for Europe to study. Her parents drop her off at the airport, and her mother actually faints. From here we see Marjane’s adolescence, her first loves, her misfit European friends, etc. Later she comes back to Iran and continues to question the local politics and religious mores, like how the government is so strict to women’s clothing but not to men. In one scene she’s running down the street, and a guard says her movements are obscene. Marjane replies “Well then don’t look at my ass!”

The ending isn’t as strong as it could be, and some of her early love life may be slightly mishandled, but overall it’s an incredibly strong story and highly enjoyable read.

Personally, what I took away from this, is that the human spirit will always rebel against oppression, even under the harshest conditions. Or, as Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schultz said of a another regime, the Soviet Union, “The yearning for freedom is the most powerful political force on the planet.” Persepolis is a true life testament to that fact. 9.5/10