Persepolis succeeds both as a memoir and as a graphic novel. Marjane Satrapi tells the story of her girlhood in Iran in the years before and after the 1979 revolution. Her family experiences persecution first from the Shah’s government and then from the Islamic revolutionary regime. She feels greatest loyalty to her parents and relatives – Marxists all – and resists Islamist indoctrination at school. Satrapi depicts the personal and political drama of her youth with flat, black and white images. Despite or because of its simplicity the artwork engages the reader’s emotions. Knowledge of the historical background of the Iranian revolution is not required to appreciate this book.

Reviewed by Tom C., Main Library

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