Persepolis: Taking Another Look

          The book Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, tells a powerful and fascinating story of a young school girl growing up in Iran during the time of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The book is a memoir of a very smart and equally ambitious young girl, who is being educated at a French non-religious school---for she was born into a well-to-do family.  Although Satrapi was only ten years old at the start of the revolution, she shows wit and wisdom beyond her years. This is demonstrated by the things that interested her at that young age; she seems more interested in having conversations with intelligent adults than with kids of her own age, with the exception of Mehri, the family's maid. The book is interesting and compelling for a number of reasons; the story is intriguing because it speaks of the social-political realities of Iran at the time of the revolution; and it also speaks of the oppression and injustice suffered by the people of Iran---at the hands of their own government---going back into ancient history. Pulling no punches, Satrapi weaves this fascinating story, and she puts it in the historical context of the people, the culture and the history of Iran---also known as Persia, its ancient and former name.

          Persepolis is such an interesting book that there’s no wonder why it has received so much praise from American institutions like the New Youk Times, Los Angeles Times and USA Today, among others. The book is compelling even before one opens the first page of the book; just the title itself, Persepolis, is very appealing. The title is just one word, comes from the Greek, and it just flows off your lips very smoothly: Persepolis---it’s genius! And then the red color, which is a beautiful color, it’s all part of the design. I mean, the red is so red that if one looks carefully enough and closely enough, one can probably see the hammer and the sickle right on the book’s cover (now I did take a good look, but I am colorblind and have sort of a poor vision - for reals). 

          Additionally, the book’s cover has an illustrated picture of Satrapi---which was done by Satrapi herself---as a young girl, wearing the veil that she was forced into wearing. Also, the book is an illustrated book with very powerful images throughout the book---we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words---without the images the book would be a very small book. Furthermore, this is a story about a smart and beautiful young girl, who at every young age saw the injustice and suffering of her people, and she just wanted to make a difference. After reading the book, what else can one do but fall in love with her.

A draft... to be continued...