Books and Movies

I’ve spent most of my reading time this week in Iran, during the oppressive Islamic regime. For my second foray into the world of graphic novels (the first was Maus), I chose Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood:

…and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return:

These two graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi comprise her memoir of growing up in the oppressive Islamic regime in Iran. Her parents were progressive thinkers, and allowed Marjane many freedoms in her home, but in public, their lives had to be very different in order to avoid arrest and persecution by the Islamic fundamentalists.

The first volume tells of Marjane’s childhood, as the Shah’s regime is overturned and the Islamic regime takes over. It ends when Marjane is sent to live in Vienna at age 14. The second volume tells of her in Vienna and her return to Iran.

These books weren’t quite as good as Maus, in my opinion, but they were still very well done, and I learned a ton, since I knew next to nothing about Iran.

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