90 reviews for:

Le Soupir

Marjane Satrapi

3.24 AVERAGE


Not what I was expecting bit I liked it. Very quick read. fable

i had wanted to read Persepolis, but my library only had this a few other lesser known ones by the same author. this book seemed like maybe for kids a little older than those who read fairy tales (there is some violence). its like a mixed version of Beauty and the Beast and 12 Dancing Princesses and something new entirely. the moral of the story is something we all know...{spoiler} life is fragile. plus, some things that happen in the story kind of put that moral into question, so i really dont get the point of this story.

I liked this story. Despite claims that this is a graphic novel, it's definitely not - more an illustrated story than anything. It's a quick read, and definitely entertaining. But then, I love stuff like this. Old world stories.

Counts for my 2016 Reading Challenge: A Book Based on a Fairy Tale

3.75 STARS

An adaptation of Beauty and the Beast with fun illustrations.

Those familiar with folklore and its categorization will recognize the framework used in the Cupid & Psyche tale (Aarne Thompson 425), but this story's variations from it are surprising and pleasing. I appreciate that certain characteristics of the story's figures are not commented on: Rose's eldest sister, Orchid, is ugly (and that is likely why she wants the peacock gown), but never is that a moralistic trait. In other words, ugly does not mean stupid or evil. It is simply treated as a fact of this person, and the art depicting her. Refreshing. The wronged parties Rose helps after unwittingly taking her husband's life are split fairly evenly between male and female parties (well, as evenly as an odd number can be), and the wrongdoers in each situation are likewise not limited to one gender. I think the major thing it lacked was a warning about the taboo of removing the feather. Contextually, it seemed missing and incorrect that it was missing. Rose's stumbling upon the one thing that could truly hurt her husband instead of being warned against it felt like a misstep, but perhaps only because of my familiarity with the tale pattern. Otherwise, I appreciated it greatly.

I love a good fairy tale, and this is straightforwardly that. I am unsure whether this is an original take on some very familiar themes, or whether this is a story I am just unfamiliar with the specific elements of...either way, it feels classic and familiar while retaining interest. I wasn't particularly blown away, but I am glad I read it.

Is it wrong that this book just made me sigh? I wish that I had liked anything she has done since Persepolis.

I'm trying to appreciate this for the fairy tale it is, but.... could we do it with a little less selling-women-as-slaves and fathers and husbands fighting over who owns a daughter?
There were beautiful elements to this story, no doubt, but I expected more/something else from Satrapi.

This is a cute little retelling of Beauty and the Beast (at least, it shares a lot of common elements with that story) that doesn't really rise above the fable genre. The pictures are simple and lack the detail and storytelling ability I would have expected from a graphic novelist. I'm glad I read it but I don't think I would have bought it.