"Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood"

Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir is a uniquely powerful account of the life of a fiery young girl growing up in the death and destruction of the Islamic Revolution. What surprised me most about this memoir is how effective the comic strip layout and images were in revealing the story of a childhood; a childhood that was ridden by fear, fear to walk outside, fear to dress with style, fear to be and say anything you wanted. The black and white images displayed a deepening contrast that took me into a world where the idea of right and wrong, black and white, was meaningless. I appreciated Satrapi’s simple, conversational language as it conveyed the reality of life in Tehran during the revolution and war with Iraq. Although this left me less engaged as a writer with the language, I was constantly moved and emotionally charged by the natural component of the story. She told it like it was.

Surprisingly, in a book flooded with murdered loved ones, bombing victims, exiled revolutionaries, and cultural oppression Satrapi maintains a sense of humor throughout. Her often sarcastic and witty undertone empowers the story by unveiling the absurdity of what was going on: women forced to cover all their hair, men tortured for throwing parties, children punished for wearing Nikes. The humor reveals a characteristic of human nature, one where the only way to survive a life of such pain and repression is to laugh, to find the only humor in the situation, and alternatively to express the extreme mistreatment of the Islamic Regime.

Many of the comic images are grotesquely graphic and blunt: a man cut into pieces, bodies flying in different directions from an explosion, backs lashed with whips and soaked with urine. Although disturbing, these simple black and white images were as powerful to me as if I had seen them in a real film. Satrapi in no way sugarcoats a situation or edits it down for pleasant viewing. And to see it in a comic book format, a book normally filled with childhood images of superheroes and fantasies, makes it all the more moving.

I ended up watching the film “Persepolis” before reading the memoir. Initially I felt as though the book would be less compelling since I had already seen the movie and knew what was going to happen. But it ended up having the opposite effect. The situation with Marjane’s country, who is in power, the history of the regime, who is fighting with who and why is all rather complicated. Having had the movie lay it out for me ended up being extremely helpful when I got to the book. I knew who was who, how they were related and was therefore able to spend more time on the story itself and the character of Marjane, rather than the logistics of the situation. Surprisingly, I felt like the book contained much more detail (even though it was only the first part of the film:her childhood) and as a result, found myself even more engrossed than in the film.

As an American, who only knows the facts about what Marjane grew up in, I found this form of storytelling educational, emotional, powerful and real. I felt more connected and could better understand some of what Marjane and her family experienced by reading pages of comic book graphics over any documentary or news broadcasting. It was unique and refreshing, and proved the power of communication, despite its form.