43. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi, Marjane. (2003). Persepolis. New York : Pantheon Books. ISBN 0375422307.

Plot Summary
Persepolis is the memoir and graphic novel of author Marjane Satrapi. It is the story of Satrapi's growing up in Iran in the 1970's during the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi is an outspoken child of Marxists parents which makes life complicated in a world where the government wants to control people's lives with its repressive regime. Satrapi gives the history of Iran and the effects of war with Iraq, political repression, and her colorful and outspoken family.

Critical Evaluation
Persepolis is an important piece of work for both teenagers and adults. Beyond its black-and-white images that tell the story of Satrapi's life in a war torn and politically repressed country there is a story of a little girl who wants to maintain her indviduality. The reader sees her growing up and turning into a depressed woman that still holds out hope for her life to be happy and this makes the story easy to relate to when the political aspects become overwhelming. Persepolis was also made into a film which is equally as stunning and captivating. It is a must have for any library collection.

Reader's Annotation
Marjane Satrapi tells the story of her life growing up Iranian in the 1970's.

About the Author
Marjane Satrapi (born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran) is a contemporary graphic novelist and illustrator. She grew up in Tehran in a progressive family. She attended the Lycée Français there and witnessed, as a child, the growing oppression of civil liberties and the everyday life consequences of Iranian politics, including the fall of the Shah, the early regime of Ayatollah Khomeini and the first years of the Iran-Iraq war.

Satrapi lives in Paris where she works as an illustrator and as an author of children's books.

Genre
Graphic novel, autobiography

Curriculum Ties
World History
Sociology

Booktalking Ideas
1) Discuss the politics of Iran as it pertains the female characters in the book.
2) How would you feel as a child growing up as Satrapi did?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+

Challenge Issues
Violence (war), language, some drinking/drug use, politics

Challenge defense ideas
-Become familiar with the politics discussed in the book.
-Become familiar with the book and its content.
-Refer to the collection development policy of the library, see http://sfpl.org/pdf/about/policies/collection-development-plan.pdf
-Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Persepolis-Marjane-Satrapi/dp/0375714839/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292303993&sr=1-1
Why Included in Titles Selected
Popular graphic novel, crossover title