Persepolis

After finishing The Book Thief, I decided to read something light and inconsequential. Instead, I chose Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.

Persepolis is another one of those books I had heard about for a long time but was slow to read.

The graphic novel recounts Satrapi's experiences as a child during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Fundamentalists oust the Shah's repressive regime and replace it with an equally oppressive religious one.

Satrapi's artwork is engaging, and she tells the story with both humor and blunt honesty. Marji is a precocious and endearing child, but her childhood is far from representative of the Iranian experience.

Marji's grandfather was a prince, ousted by the Shah. Her parents, relatives, and acquaintances are politically active. Some are imprisoned and some killed for their stances. Marji is adored and coddled by her family and allowed freedoms few other girls enjoy.

Satrapi is a fine storyteller and her history is worth telling. Yet, perhaps because my emotions were tightly wound after finishing The Book Thief only a few hours earlier, Persepolis seems to lack the depths of emotional honesty and the resonating truths of a Deogratias.