Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi

Janis picked because she thought it would be good to have a book by a woman (nobody else picked one) and a graphic novel might be good. She had never read it and this might be a good chance to hear what other people think.


Tyler - I'm about a quarter of the way in and I'm quite captivated. Like many people my age (just a bit older than the author), I saw images of the Iranian revolution on television and had little idea what was behind all of it. It has me thinking a lot about how effective government works; that it is not simply a question of democracy vs autocracy, but a system of checks and balances. It is impossible for a Canadian reading Satrapi's account of how she was made to wear the veil, and not think of our last government's attempt to ban niqabs from citizenship ceremonies. While many will see it as a triumph of democracy that the government was voted out, it was actually the supreme court that defended the rights of the citizens. So...anyway...yeah, I like the book.

Tyler- I just finished. Wow. Satrapi achieves a wonderful balance in her story-telling; something very personal, but that anyone could identify with. Perhaps part of the reason it is so effective is that the reader learning about the history of Iran is put in a similar position to young Marjane, who has to filter though propaganda to get a sense of the truth. Or something. I can't put my finger on it and really it's simply a matter of really good story telling. It seems very honest.

Tyler - I just read the second Persepolis book. Maybe better than the first.