Marjane Satrapi
150 pages
Read in 1 day
Don't be too impressed by my reading this book in 1 day. If you are not aware, the book is a "graphic novel". I haven't read a lot of graphic novels...there was "Ghost World" by Daniel Clowes that I got after seeing the movie. Maybe I felt that graphic novels weren't "real" books. The thing is, after reading Persepolis, my feelings changed. This was such a wonderful, compelling story that I can't believe it being told any other way.
The story is the autobiographical tale of Marjane Satrapi, beginning from the age of 10 and ending when she is 14. The story begins as she starts school and she is forced, as part of the new Islamic government's law, to wear a veil. The book begins lightheartedly as the girls in the school struggle with wearing the veil every day. Marjane comes across a rather precocious young girl who has a vivid imagination and almost insatiable appetite (fed by her parents) for reading about the history of Iran but also the story of conflicts around the world.
The story traces the beginnings of the Islamic rule in Iran. It begins with the overthrow of the Shah (a puppet that was put into power by the CIA and British intelligence agencies) who was brutal and oppressive to the people of Iran. People, including Marjane's parents, protested on the streets calling for the overthrow of the Shah. After much bloodshed, the Shah is overthrown and the people rejoice in their freedom from the tyrannical leader.
Political prisoners are released including two that Marjane's family knows. Their tales of the abuse in prison are vivid and horrific. Later, her uncle, Anoosh, is released and reunited with the family. He is an idealistic Marxist who understands why that, while the revolution was a leftist one, Islamic rule is what the people want:
It's not important, everything will turn out fine. In a country where half the population is illiterate, you cannot unite the people around Marx. The only thing that can really unite them is nationalism or a religious ethic...But the religious leaders don't know how to govern, they will return to their Mosques. The proletariat shall rule! It's inevitable!!The story at this point turns as it the Islamic government cracks down on these intellects and their ideals. The punishment is quick and violent. It appears, at least to me, that the overthrow of the Shah ended one extreme rule in Iran, but, it is taken over by an Islamic government that is just as brutal. Persepolis moves to the next events in history: the taking of the hostages at the US Embassy, the closing of the universities for 2 years (due to a "decadent" school system that needs to be "revised to ensure (the) children are not led astray from the true path of Islam"), and the forcing of women to wear the veil all are announced. Protests are quickly put down with growing violence.
As if things couldn't get more difficult for the people, it is at this time that Iraq attacks Iran. Saddam Hussein, realizing that the Islamic government had jailed most of the military pilots loyal to the Shah and therefore were weakened defensively, had led the attack. The story talks about the bombings and rationing that go on. However, as the war wages on, the "internal war become(s) a bigger issue...anyone showing slightest resistance to the regime were persecuted." Realizing that Tehran is no longer safe with the Iraqi bombings and also Marjane's boldness and resistance getst her in trouble. they make arrangements to send her to school in Austria. The story ends as she boards her plane for her new school and life.
Ms. Satrapi novel does a great job at conveying mood or feeling in just one frame. You see the urgency, the horror on the faces as she tells the story. Reading this story, you can't help but be sucked into the time. I can't imagine being her age and listening to bombs exploding or seeing violent demonstrations as she has.
While the book gave a good background to how the current government came into power, there are still so many questions. I assume that Guests of the Ayatollah will provide further insight to this as well.
As a new (well, 5 years now) father, I wondered as a I read this, what will the world be like when my sons are her age? What will Iran look like? There is so much conflict in the world, will there one day be peace? I did feel a chill as Marjane's father exclaimed (after the Shah was exiled to Egypt), "as long as there is oil in the Middle East, we will never have peace."
Up next (and I did finish the book, so I hope to have the post up soon) is Winchell.
