Reviews

Persépolis by Marjane Satrapi

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carlyxdeexx's review against another edition

4.0

I ended up reading all of this at the laundromat, and I should have taken out the second book, too. It ends at a point when you feel like the story is simultaneously just beginning. It’s very matter-of-fact despite the emotional heft of the subject matter, and that paired with the stark art style gave the entire story a dry feeling to me—not dry as in boring, but dry as if it were almost flattened out, simplified. There were really touching moments that blossomed out of this, particularly towards the end and most distinctly concerning Marjane’s grandmother, and they really shone and stood out from the rest of the story for me.

This is a crucially informative telling that gives depth and perspective to a people and a place often lumped into exaggerated and inaccurate categories by U.S. Americans. I think it’s vital for that reason, despite it not being perhaps the most stellar graphic novel
I’ve ever read. And I did enjoy it, and I still haven’t read the next in the series. So I can’t wait to report back on how that goes!