Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Published by simon on February 22, 2010

Some time back in December when i wrote about my 2009 Book of the Year (it was Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book), I promised to write about the runner-up book in the following post. But other things got in the way, never got round to doing it.

So before I totally forget about it, here’s my honourable mention for 2009 Book of the Year.

No it STILL isn’t Twilight.

It’s a wonderful graphic novel called Persepolis by Iranian-born French journalist Marjane Satrapi.

When it was first released in the US, there were 2 parts, Book 1 was called ‘Story of a Childhood’ and the sequel was called ‘The Story of Return’. The version I read was in a single compendium.

As a graphic novel, the art is quirky but interesting, it conveys the emotions of the characters very well throughout the book. But the story is what really shines here. It gives a rare peek into the life of the upper class in Iran before and during the Iranian Revolution. In this sense it is a little similar to ‘Kite Runner’ on Afghanistan. Like most good biographies, this is a coming of age story of the writer as she encounters God, adulthood and life beyond the comfort of her ancestral home.

Personally i felt the first half was much stronger than the second, but overall it still manages to enthrall me to finish in one sitting.

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