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“Persepolis ” is an autobiographical graphic novel by Iranian- born French author, Marjane Satrapi.   Although the graphics seems solemn and austere with black and white being its primary colours, the novel is surprisingly witty, funny, tender and heart- rendering.

The red book (Persepolis 1) draws on the childhood of Marjane in post-revolutionary Iran.   It focuses on her life with her left-wing intellectual parents, and their struggle against the Shah dictatorship and later their resistance against the ruling mullahs. What I love about the book is that there is nothing extraneous about the plot and graphic presentation.   The black and white world of “Persepolis” engages the readers by drawing them into an internal space fraught with political tensions and uncertainties.

The blue book (Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return) is a continuation of the red book.   It literally begins where the first book ended.   It is just as captivating as the first albeit a little more emotional as the reader journeys together with Marjane during her time in Vienna as her parents deemed Tehran as being too constraining for her emotional and intellectual well-being.   Here, the novel takes a different trajectory as the story focuses on the protagonist’s struggles as she copes in an alien culture.

Persepolis is available in the Art, Design and Media Library (ADML).�
Call number:  PN6747.S245P466