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Book Review of Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood

Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood
althea avatar reviewed on + 774 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I rarely read graphic novels, but the buzz about this got me (and I love the artwork style too, so that helped.)
Satrapi's stated goal for this story about her childhood in Iran is to humanize the country and the people - to create awareness that Iran is not only a country of religious fundamentalists.
However, after reading it, I took away the impression that things there were worse than I had realized, not better. It is definitely an illuminating book, but don't read it expecting it to be cute and funny. Rather, it's emotionally wrenching and frequently tragic. It's also very good however, and Satrapi doesn't shy away from showing us her own flaws or the ironies involved in that she did come from a very privileged family.