Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Perzepolis by Marjane Satrapi

19 reviews

sadhbh2525's review against another edition

3.5

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Colonisation

sakisreads's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

---

✨ Gifted ✨

I don’t know how I feel about this graphic novel 😳 On one hand, the messages were abundantly clear and brilliantly expressed. Marjane Satrapi has a lot of anger (and rightfully so). On the other hand, I wasn’t sure what to make of certain moments…

For example, when Satrapi falsely accuses the stranger of making lewd comments towards her and he gets taken away by the morality police, I was disgusted and shocked 😫

My friend recommended this to me and there is a quote that she sticks by:

‘In life you'll meet a lot of jerks. If they hurt you, tell yourself that it's because they're stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance... always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.’

This bit did warm my heart 🥹

3.5 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ Content warnings below!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Suicide attempt

ehindmon's review against another edition

5.0

dark funny reflective sad fast-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

Minor: Antisemitism

pastelkerstin's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, War, Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Pregnancy

ratatatkat's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional funny informative sad fast-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, War, Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, War

Minor: Body shaming, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Classism, Deportation

m560's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

---

The Complete Persepolis is a coming of age, non-fiction graphic memoir by Marjan Satrapi. It spans a period of time from the late 1970s to early 1990s taking mostly place in war torn Tehran, Iran. 

This was a very interesting read. I learnt a lot about the history of the country known as Iran, and about its people's small and big acts of resistance when faced with a restrictive, religious regime. I found it especially interesting that we truly see Satrapi's memories through the eyes of her childhood self. A self that doesn't always know what is going on exactly. Though her parents did a lot to educate her on these issues, her perception is limited by her age. 

"The more time passed, the more I became conscious of the contrast between the official representation of my country and the real life of the people, the one that went on behind the walls." 

I appreciate Satrapi being very honest about her life, memories, and personality, and not falling into the trap of rose-coloured glasses and inspiration porn. She openly shares her shortcomings and turning points in her life where she was confronted with the darker sides of herself, and took action to address those. However I did find her personality to be abrasive at times, especially when it comes to her expressions of fatphobia throughout this graphic novel. 

A highlight of this story is the heartwarming relationship between Satrapi and her parents and grandmother. You can feel the genuine care this family has for one other. They do their best to listen to and understand each other, and Satrapi's grandmother has a lot of wisdom to share. 

"In life you'll meet a lot of jerks. If they hurt you, tell yourself that it's because they're stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance... Always keep yoir dignity and be true to yourself." 

Satrapi illustrates her story in a striking black and white art style. It is a relatively simple and unadorned style, but nonetheless she manages to capture a surprisingly wide range of emotions and subjects. 

While I enjoyed most of the individual vignettes, I found the first half of this collection to be the most focused. Possibly this reflects Satrapi's state of mind and the relative stability and sense of innocence in her life at that time. The later memories feel a bit more fragmented and less cohesive. I especially felt the ending was quite sudden. 

"In spite of all the dangers, the parties went on. 'Without them it wouldn't be psychologically bearable,' some said. 'Without parties, we might as well just bury ourselves now,' added the others." 

One of the most interesting elements of The Complete Persepolis is Satrapi's relationship to God. We see how this has formed a red thread throughout her life and I would have liked to see further exploration of this aspect. 

Overall this book was an interesting and enlightening read. I would recommend this to anyone who can tolerate the extensive list of trigger warnings. Satrapi captures concepts that are sadly still very important in this day and age. 

"When we're afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us." 

TW: war, mutilation, torture, physical abuse, emotional abuse, arrest, imprisonment, murder, execution, bombings, depression, suicide attempts on page, fatphobia, bodyshaming, ableism, drug use, alcohol, xenophobia, islamophobia, sexism, sexual harassment, homophobia, religious bigotry.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, War

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia

thegardenlesbian's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

---

Muy buen libro, me ha llenado el corazón. Recomiendo a cualquiera que lo lea. Es increíble la conexión que se siente con la autora, especialmente de niña. Te hace llorar de tristeza y de risa.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment

nornors's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, War

iarlais's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

---

Persepolis really is a magnificent journey. I read this during my breaks at work and it was the first time in a while I was counting down the hours during my shift that I could get back to a book. This story touches on so much, growing up in tumultuous times, witnessing death and destruction as part of your childhood, seeing family members disappear, struggling to breathe as a girl in a deeply misogynistic society. Then Europe comes and the old challenges fade away, only to be replaced with new, more philosophical ones - trying to find your place in life, never feeling settled, and trying to adjust amidst a severe culture shock. It's an astoundingly funny and tragic work and easily one of the most fantastic autobiographies I've ever read. As a last note, the art work is great and easy to follow. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture

lilreddress's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, War

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexism, Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder