I am sort of late to the Persepolis bandwagon (there are now four volumes of graphic novels and a film coming out), but wanted to make sure Feministing readers are aware of Marjane Satrapi’s work in case you were sleeping on it too. (Shout out to my momma for passing it along).
Satrapi writes about her life growing up in Iran post-revolution with a surprising sort of anti-romantic romance. Each chapter is a story, in the classic sense, but she also braids in these wonderfully surprising elements, the most exciting of which is her own sometimes crass, always deadpan comedic timing.
At a time when the Middle East has become a caricature in most of mainstream media, and let’s face it, even some of the well-intentioned memoirs/biographies, Persepolis makes it all very real. By focusing in on her quirky and compassionate liberal family as a microcosm of the larger story of Iran in the 70s and 80s, you can’t help but close the book understanding more about life and the people there.
And as if that wasn’t motivation enough, there is a strong feminist vibe through out volumes one and two (I’ve yet to get to the others). At one point Marjane reads her mother’s favorite book—The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir—and then tries peeing standing up. She writes, “Seated, it was much simpler and, as an Iranian woman, before learning to urinate like a man, I needed to learn to become a liberated and emancipated woman,� above a hilarious drawing of herself sitting on a toilet with her pants around her ankles, looking stumped.
I’m eager to see the film, which just won a jury prize at Cannes. I hope Satrapi’s originality and wit can be captured on the big screen. (Surprise, surprise, the Iranian government has already expressed their distaste.)
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I love LOVE Persepolis, so thank you for making this your first Not Oprah's Book Club choice. She's dryly funny and very warm. Her writing is a wonderful glimpse into a life experience most of us will never be able to fully comprehend.
I remember seeing a bit of this woman's work in one of my college textbooks. It wasn't in an assigned section (surprise, huh?) but I really enjoyed reading it.
Let's just hope the Cheney and Lieberman types don't use repression of women in Iran as part of some faux casus belli for starting Vietnam III.
I was introduced to Persepolis this fall in a course at school, it was a required text. I absolutely loved the writing.
this was my first graphic novel, but i read the first volume of persepolis in 2005 before i took a trip to iran, and it really helped me to understand a piece of the struggle of iranian people during the time of the '79 iranian revolution, and how it went from being a radical/liberal revolution to a fundamentalist islamic movement. i havent read any of the others but i think i will pick up a new one...thanks for reminding me
I am so glad to see this here (excited enough that I finally signed up to make a comment!). In the world of graphic novels/comics/whatever we wish to call them, women are poorly underrepresented. Satrapi's work is so refreshing and wonderful, especially after even a brief survey of the tediously self-deprecating (and often troublingly sexist) books being put out by men in the same art form.
Awww, I love Persepolis! I'm always glad to see Satrapi get a shout-out, given how tough it can be to find really great depictions of women in comics.
Three volumes? I only know of the two Persepolis ones and then Embroideries (which I think is my favorite). Is there a new one?
tps12 - Vols 3&4 of the French edition are Vol 2 of the US edition.
another Satrapi fan here. i've read (and own) Persepolis 1 & 2 and Embroideries, and i loved them all! i discovered her while i was going through a graphic novel phase and she's become one of my favorite authors, regardless of genre.
i will keep an eye out for the film version, although i do tend to be disappointed by movie versions of books. let's hope not in this case!
I've always heard Persepolis is a great book(s), and I've just obtained the first volume for myself.
If anyone here is interested in some other good graphic novels with a feminist slant, I'd urge you folks to check out some of my personal favorites. Ariel Schrag's autobiographical work, the books Awkward, Defininition, and (especially) Potential, respectively. They're really cool examples of the art form and they helped me a lot through my own adolescence.
Also, the great Alan Moore's Promethea. Although it's more of a theology/philosophy lecture in the disguise of a Wonder Woman style superhero book, it has some very deep and very cool feminist themes to it and it helped shape my world view to what it is today.
Oh man, Promethea is the greatest. Just a stunning achievement. I'll look for Persepolis, it sounds interesting.
i have almost read this book at least seven times. perhaps this is the sign that i should just shut up and commit... At any rate, great start to the book club!
I love, love, love, LOVE Persepolis. Did I mention that I love it? I think my favorite part is the one about her childhood conversations with God and Marx: they look a lot alike, except that "Marx has curlier hair". And I have a huge crush on Uncle Annoush.
Woo! Just yesterday I was thinking about Not Oprah Book Club (nob-see for short? haha) and wondering what happened.
I'm excited to see Persepolis as the first (and second) book. I just read them a few weeks ago and was super excited. My graphic novel experiences starts and ends at Ghost World, so I was very excited to discover an interesting graphic novel memoir, as I love love love memoirs.
I am shamefully ignorant of world history, so for me it was a great way to learn about something I don't know a whole lot about.
Also, the fact that it's from her perspective really makes it for me. She's telling her own story, which is something the world usually doesn't like or allow.
What a great choice! I loved this book, and I have recommended it to many friends. This gives me a good excuse to pick up a copy and read it again.
A recommendation from a different angle: the book My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes, edited by Lila Azam Zanganeh. After discovering Perspolis and Reading Lolita in Tehran (also excellent and feminist), I found this book. It's a collection of essays by Iranians -- mostly women -- and it is excellent. Politics, culture, identity, gender issues, art, and humor.... Really, really good.
Read the rest of her stuff too! :)
I just ordered them from Amazon.com Marketplace, used. I'll look forward to reading them.
Persepolis is my summer reading selection for school this fall, I'm excited to read it. Glad to hear good things about it from the Feministing crew.
just got a chance to read it - and loved it! Pretty quick read and a great way to learn more about history that I'm not very familiar with.