On my birthday one of my ancient buddies gave me a book. Maybe it was supposed to be somewhat out of line with my normal reading, because it was full of pictures!
“PERSEPOLIS” by Marjane Satrapi (1969) is what is called a ‘graphic novel’: a comic book for adults, and my first impression was one of “relaxation” and “light reading”. Surely, as I thought was the rationale behind the gesture of my friend, I could use some R&R in between the usual political and scientific heavy stuff I normally read.
I was wrong. Not just wrong, but Dead Wrong – this was no light reading. And I should have known, because on an earlier occasion, this same comrade has given me another graphic novel by New York-based editor and artist Art Spiegelman, called “MAUS”, in which he tells the gruesome story of his Jewish father’s escape from Nazi-Europe during the Second World War, and that was no walk in the park either. In fact, Maus is one of the most intense books I have ever read. Thus, graphic novels are not funny by definition.
Persepolis came at just the right time: It hooked into my own personal context because I know quite some people from Persia, the country of origin of its author and the setting for the story. [‘Perse' = Persian; and ‘polis'= ancient Greek for city, thus: Persian City]. The book describes the first part of the life of Satrapi, born before the Revolution of the Ayatollahs. This revolution ousted a very repressive Shah and his regime but introduced an even worse fate: rule by Islamic fundamentalist.
Satrapi takes us through the revolution and its aftermath; and through the devastating effects it had on the country and its intelligentsia. Persia had earned itself a spot in history as a place of high culture, almost from the beginning of our civilised time. This position was skilfully torpedoed by the mullahs regime, who found Islamic appropriateness more important than cultural prowess. Thanks to them, since 1979 Persia is Iran and it has a third world status.
Coincidentally, I had just read some history on the region and its Arab peoples. So, this book fell into a bed that had just been made for it. A personal account of life under Islamic suppression nicely fits in the general subject of my reading efforts of late, so to speak.
One must not be taken aback by my descriptions above. In general, the book is very much worth reading. With a healthy dose of humour and Satrapi puts herself into perspective without taking any prisoners. There is no trace of whining or self pity, and she comes across as a very intelligent person. And to top it all off, the drawings are very good too: black and white, simple and basic, but very informing and adequate. They tell the story well.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get an insight into the Persian / Iranian life or who is curious as to how the people cope with their catastrophic lack of personal freedom. Or maybe one just wants to read a good graphic novel. Read it before you see the film…!
