Scan barcode
cbh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I have never read a book that so perfectly captures the feeling of freedom and all that one can gain and lose out of it. It is excellent! An easy page turner, and definitely a must-read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and War
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Torture, Child death, Death, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This is really such an accessible look at living in Iran during the war in the 1980s, which honestly not a lot of YA lit really covers. It's a realtively simple art style, but there are panels that really get the emotions across. Marjane feels a lot of things, and props to her parents for encouraging the freedom she desired.
There are parts of this that are also hard to read, given the subject matter. It would make great required reading for a social studies class in high school. It will definitely make for good discussion tonight at our book club.
There are parts of this that are also hard to read, given the subject matter. It would make great required reading for a social studies class in high school. It will definitely make for good discussion tonight at our book club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia and Rape
eviecheesepuff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
✨ What a way to start Women’s History Month! ✨
I read this in early March and I definitely blame it for my delayed posting schedule. Even though I kept reading other books after, I had to let my thoughts regarding this story shimmer for a bit.
TG - The book isn't exactly focused on violence, but it def doesn't shy away or tone down any situations the author witnessed or heard about. There are references to torture, dismemberment, rape and murder.
This was a such a bittersweet and and eye opening read. The story starts in 1979, when Marjane Satrapi was ten years old. To be honest this is the first novel I’ve read from the pov of someone who grew up at the heart of the Islamic Revolution. And somehow, even though the tone of the book is very somber and sad, because we are following a little girl growing up, the narrative has its moments of humor.
If you like "coming of age" stories, this is for you. But be warned that it won't always make you feel good. The way Satrapi's anger is depicted (through the growing constraints of the society she lives in) gives a very intimate glimpse of what life would be like if one were stripped of many basic rights. Especially when she was a teenager. That was the hardest part to get through for me.
Overall, this book made me reflect on how privileged my life has been just by not having to deal with war in any capacity. I think it’s easier to read or hear your grandparents talk about WWI, or WWII because it happened long ago enough that it feels far away from us. But when you start thinking about more recent wars like the one depicted in this book, or the Ukrainian-Russian war going on right now… you realize how awful life can really be and how lucky you are to be at home, safe, with the people you love.
As this book is an autobiography, I will skip both my usual “lessons learned” and “notes” parts, as everyone should draw their own conclusions from this work. I also won’t be rating it, because imo it feels wrong… like I’m grading someone’s experiences by validating or invalidating them. Regardless of how I feel about the author and their opinions, it’s not my place to do so. But I will say this. READ THIS BOOK.
I read this in early March and I definitely blame it for my delayed posting schedule. Even though I kept reading other books after, I had to let my thoughts regarding this story shimmer for a bit.
TG - The book isn't exactly focused on violence, but it def doesn't shy away or tone down any situations the author witnessed or heard about. There are references to torture, dismemberment, rape and murder.
This was a such a bittersweet and and eye opening read. The story starts in 1979, when Marjane Satrapi was ten years old. To be honest this is the first novel I’ve read from the pov of someone who grew up at the heart of the Islamic Revolution. And somehow, even though the tone of the book is very somber and sad, because we are following a little girl growing up, the narrative has its moments of humor.
If you like "coming of age" stories, this is for you. But be warned that it won't always make you feel good. The way Satrapi's anger is depicted (through the growing constraints of the society she lives in) gives a very intimate glimpse of what life would be like if one were stripped of many basic rights. Especially when she was a teenager. That was the hardest part to get through for me.
Overall, this book made me reflect on how privileged my life has been just by not having to deal with war in any capacity. I think it’s easier to read or hear your grandparents talk about WWI, or WWII because it happened long ago enough that it feels far away from us. But when you start thinking about more recent wars like the one depicted in this book, or the Ukrainian-Russian war going on right now… you realize how awful life can really be and how lucky you are to be at home, safe, with the people you love.
As this book is an autobiography, I will skip both my usual “lessons learned” and “notes” parts, as everyone should draw their own conclusions from this work. I also won’t be rating it, because imo it feels wrong… like I’m grading someone’s experiences by validating or invalidating them. Regardless of how I feel about the author and their opinions, it’s not my place to do so. But I will say this. READ THIS BOOK.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and War
maria_elizabeth_harden_pope's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I had never read a graphic novel before this book because I thought they were shallow or for kids or immature, but this book defies all expectations. Extremely thoughtful, Satrapi balances the fun and little challenges of growing up with huge political and sociological reflections. She captures exactly what it means to be a child, the way a child's mind works, and how that changes as we get older. She is so humblingly and brutally honest about her life's choices-- and that they don't always make sense, but they happen anyways. LOVE this book. Plus, it'll give you a whole education on Iran's history, which I found really helpful!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Religious bigotry, War, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Police brutality, and Rape
ruby_mae_read's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Torture
Moderate: Rape
gorg_j's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75
I read this for school and didn’t necessarily understand the history of it all, but Satrapi did a great job depicting moments of her childhood and they oppose as well as align with moments of rhe Iranian Revolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death
cozy_academic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Persepolis is a powerful read. As someone unfamiliar with the landscape of Iran, some of the town and city names were a little challenging to keep track of, but that doesn't take away from the impact of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, War, Alcohol, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, and Child death
cofstars's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Self harm, Misogyny, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Bullying
daniellekat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
2.5
Oof. I’m having a really hard time rating this one. On one hand, it was a beautiful look at one girl’s coming of age in an environment of war and oppression. But on the other hand, I really disliked Marjane (which feels harsh because this is non fiction) and the way the narrative was told. Each chapter felt disjointed and somewhat unreliable. I don’t know if I just had high expectations or this just didn’t work for me. Either way I would still recommend because it was an accessible look at the turmoil in Iran during the late 80s and early 90s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, War, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Xenophobia, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Racism, Drug use, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Ableism
lj_sophia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
Despite having to read Persepolis as an assigned reading, I enjoyed this book immensely. Reading about such a tragic and multi-faceted situation as Iranian society throughout revolution and war but from the perspective of a young girl gives the novel that naive and childlike flair that leaves you reflecting after each vignette. I found that the more tragic ones were even more haunting in the simple, yet effective art style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Torture, Death, and Religious bigotry