Persepolis

A departure from the books I have read of late called Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi .  A French animation book, but translated to French.  My son’s girlfriend is reading it for her “freshman read” this year at Wheaton College (yes, the one that Ann Curry had her snafu! See: http://celebs.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978258992).  So she suggested I read it sooner than later.  Glad I did.  It is a “comics” style book that tells the story of the author’s growing up (yes, an autobiography!) in Iran during the Islamic revolution.  It is drawn in black and white and illustrates a woman’s view of losing her own ownership in the country and how it is changed by a male dominated culture.  I enjoyed the perspective of a youth during a change in political power and how influenced children are by outside forces.  She makes political statements in opposition to those of her parents until she learns how the current regime has captured her own relatives.  We learn through the growing up process the downfall of the Shah of Iran and the beginning of the Iran/Iraq war. Marjane, the author, grows up during the course of the story and experiences life outside as a means of survival of Iran and then returns to experience a very different life. 

This was very different type of read and I did enjoy the style of an adult version “comic book” story.  I’d say a good read, not a must read.