Persepolis Boxed Set
by Marjane Satrapi
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Book Summary Information
Author: Marjane SatrapiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Box set
Published: 2005-10-25
ISBN: 0375423966
Number of pages: 300
Publisher: Pantheon
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780375423963
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Persepolis Boxed Set
Book Review: Persepolis 1 & 2
Summary: 5 Stars
In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi tells a story in words and pictures of her life in Iran. The first book covers Satrapi's life from early childhood, until 14, when she leaves to study in Austria, and the second book covers her time in Europe, and her return to life in Iran up to her late 20s. This period covers the last years of the Shah, the revolution that overthrew him, the consolidation of the Islamic Republic, the war with Iraq, and through to the present. A tumultuous time indeed.
You would expect any account of growing up in Iran in the last generation to be heartbreaking and terrifying, and Satrapi's story is, but it is also funny in a grim sort of way that can only be told from inside a nightmare. Most impressive is that the author does not spare herself. She writes as unflinchingly about her own flaws, petty cruelties and bad decisions as she does about those of all those around her. The lessons learned are not idealized, and sometimes they are only partially learned, so her travel through life feels very real and very human.
Part of the appeal of the story to Westerners, of course, is that Marjane is a very modern Iranian woman. Raised in a very modern family that is upper middle class by Iranian standards, she struggles with social mores and the education system and we root for her because Westerners (particularly Americans) love stories about individuals overcoming adversity to become their own person. But that doesn't explain all of the story's appeal. What makes it so satisfying is the insight into the issue of modernity, and how it manifests through the life of a interesting and all too human character. We come to understand that being modern and being Western aren't the same thing. The West is an undeliably strong influence on Marjane and other modern Iranians, but in the story, simply copying Western ways proves unsatisfying at a minimum, and sometimes disasterous.
Ultimately, the story is about finding -- actually creating -- a life that is both modern and Persian. It is a tortorous path, and one that Marjane often has to tread alone. Marjane's friends follow the regime's draconian moral code in public, but break out the party life in private. Yet Marjane eventually comes to see this as a kind of adolescent rebellion against a parental force that cannot, at present, be overcome. An incident that illustrates this is her revelation to her closest friends that she's having sex with her boyfriend. Their shock and disapproval jars her into the realization that modern is a relative concept even amoung modern Iranians.
Marjane weathers her trials and emerges with a sort of wisdom. We admire her for it because she earned it the hard way. But we also hope, fervently, that people like Marjane will thrive, for they are the ones who will lead Iran into the future.
Summary of Persepolis Boxed Set
Persepolis: The Story of a ChildhoodWise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi?s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah?s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran?s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane?s child?s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Here is the continuation of Marjane Satrapi's fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.
Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.
As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up?here compounded by Marjane?s status as an outsider both abroad and at home?it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.
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