Quicklet on Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (CliffNotes-like Summary)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Satrapi enjoyed the art of both writing and drawing and felt combining them were better than choosing one or the other. This is how, “inspired, Satrapi created a book of black-and-white comic strips about living in Tehran from ages six to 14,” (www.noteablebiographies.com) and then wrote a second volume chronicling her events in Austria from 14 up until her return to Iran at age 18, ending with her college years at 25.

Since Persepolis was originally written in French, it “was published in France in two volumes in 2000 and 2001,” and eventually “appeared in the United States in 2003 and 2004.” (www.noteablebiographies.com) In 2007, The Complete Persepolis was published in a single volume, combining Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. The books can either be purchased as single volumes or as ‘one’ volume combining both stories.

MEET THE AUTHOR

A current San Francisco Bay Area resident, Natacha Pavlov has been an avid reader and writer since her early years spent growing up in Brussels, Belgium. She earned her B.A. in Comparative World Literature from San Francisco State University and constantly flirts with the notion of earning her Master’s/PhD someday. She has French-English non-profit translation experience and looks forward to increasing her writing through various platforms in the near future. Although the list keeps growing, she has interest in reading and writing about classics, mythology (of any/all traditions), horror/gothic fiction, 18th and 19th century French novels, Middle Eastern history and politics (particularly Palestine-Israel) and early Christianity.

Fueled by her culturally diverse heritage, her educational and personal interests have led her to engage in extensive travel and to live in places such as Paris, France and Jerusalem, Israel. Amidst all, pens, papers and books have always proven loyal companions. And she won’t lie… chocolate has always helped too! She strives to keep exploring the world through books as well as further travel experiences that will ensure continued growth.

You can read about some of her experiences in Jerusalem at www.aneasterinjerusalem.blogspot.com.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Iranians are very unhappy with the Shah’s rule, leading many people to protest. Ever ready to stand up for what was right, Marjane is always pleading to join her parents in political demonstrations, which they refuse due to her young age. However, we find that Satrapi can also have a rebellious side, as proven in the incident in which she has her maid Mehri accompany her to a demonstration on the worst day they could’ve gone: Black Friday.

Indeed, Marjane’s mother slaps them both when they return home, as this was the day when so many people had died in one neighborhood that a rumor spread that it was Israeli soldiers who had attacked them, when indeed it had been their own who attacked. (Persepolis 1, pg. 38–39) Things start to look up when the Shah finally leaves his post, overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, leading the whole country to rejoice. Marjane meets two political prisoners who are released after the Shah’s departure: two Communists named Siamak and Moshen.

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