Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Marjane Satrapi

10 reviews

pacifickat's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

I have been enjoying the sub-genre of 'graphic novel memoire' recently, and this duology was a solid addition. Both books are interesting and informative about the history of Iran in the 1980's and '90's. However, while the book is fairly nuanced, I found it lacking a bit in empathy. 

I don't always love young adult Marjane, even if her overall story is worth the time to read. (Her father, however, is an absolute gem.) I often perceive her as quite selfish, although she had to live alone in a foreign country starting at age 14 so her self-centeredness may be fueled by survival instict. There is one particularly disturbing scene

when she is in her twenties and returned to Iran where she accuses an innocent man of sexual harrassment, which gets him arrested and carted off, all so she can avoid police attention due to wearing makeup outside her home. She seems genuinely confused when her grandmother is mad at her for behaving in such a way toward another person.

Furthermore, her family's relative wealth helps her get out of a lot of situations without physical harm, and she seems unaware of the privilege this is. Then she judges her friends and peers when they make choices to 'play it safe' rather than fighting the oppressive government, attending covert parties as a form of protest, or pushing back against gender norms and expectations. She doesn't seem to fully grasp how much others around her stand to lose if they hold on too hard to their idealism. 

I also found the internalized sexism of the women the author portrayed to be really sad and disturbing. There are lots of scenes of women glaring at each other when one is receiving a man's attention seemingly out of jealousy or disapproval. Plus, Marjane's internal dialogue often calls other women names like 'fat cow' when she finds them interacting with a man she is interested in, or she doesn't like the same things they do. I found her pretty mean and catty much of the time. However, while she is a very flawed character, she still suffers as a victim of racism, mysogeny, abusive laws, and police brutality. Her plight and suffering should still matter to the reader. This type of representation is actually a bit refreshing to see, even if it is challenging or uncomfortable to spend time in that narrator's shoes.

These books have faced recent bans in the US, so even more reason to check them out in my opinion. I don't see any reason why Part 1 would be inappropriate for age 13+, and Part 2 for age 15+. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, War, Mental illness, Police brutality, Death, Self harm, Racism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Rape

Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy

Pressure to become pregnant, pressure to conform to religious ideology, restrictions on freedom of thought, restrictions on bodily autonomy, false imprisonment, homelessness, internalized sexism

lizzie24601's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Satrapi is a great cartoonist and memoirist. She balances very well between detailing the emotions and faults of her youth and providing added context in hindsight. There's something here for every reader to relate to (regarding this coming of age), as well as a lot to learn about life in 1980s-90s Iran.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Police brutality, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death, Torture, Xenophobia, War, and Alcohol

gin_and_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Violence, Addiction, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Alcohol, Deportation, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Islamophobia

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi was a continuation of the stories we got to see in the first edition. This book continued to press the boundaries of what it means to grow up in the middle of a war. This book dove a little deeper into the impact of the war on Marjane, and how it affected her development as she got older. I think these two books paint an incredibly important picture of the personal hardships suffered by individuals in war torn countries. These books deal beautiful with the complex and challenging emotions they bring up, and I think that reading the pair is well worth everyone’s time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, War, Sexism, Genocide, and Misogyny

cozy_academic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide attempt, War, Gun violence, Alcohol, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, and Drug use

lanid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Police brutality, Body shaming, and Homophobia

lindsayerin's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Police brutality and Drug use

Minor: Suicide attempt

marissasa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.0

Part 2 of Marjane's story continues where the first left off with her arrival in Austria, in her parents' attempt to free her from the oppressive life in war-torn Iran at the time. We see her go through huge life changes both physically and mentally, as she ages 4 years before her decision to return to Iran. She doesn't shy away from her experiences with drugs, alcohol, partying, racism, good and bad influences from friends, formative dating experiences, poverty, and homelessness that shaped her time in Austria. The difference between the young Marji in part 1 and the grown Marjane in this part is astounding, but we see and empathize with her struggles with loneliness, identity, and depression along the way. She continues to change even after her return, getting a degree and even getting married and eventually divorced. Although this is the story of her return home after time abroad, it ends on a melancholy note with her conscious decision to leave Iran for France for good in seek of freedom from the government's strict rules, with the knowing support of her parents and grandmother.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Torture, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Cursing, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Blood, Police brutality, and Racism

ninahuynh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

I loved seeing Marjane's growth as a character and a teenager to young adulthood. Makes you put into perspective the many different lives people are living, and how war and death and oppression can shape and mold you is whichever it wants unless you are willing to stand up for what you believe in.   I wish there was more to read!!

Read more in my blog: https://niansworld.wordpress.com/2022/02/20/persepolis-the-story-of-a-return-3-4-marjane-satrapi/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Police brutality, and War

Moderate: Sexual harassment

thalassaio's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Police brutality, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Islamophobia