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  • Published: 1 July 2003
  • ISBN: 9780224064408
  • Imprint: Jonathan Cape
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 160
  • RRP: $39.99
Categories:

Persepolis

The Story of a Childhood



Another astonishing work of graphic non-fiction: the story of a girl growing up in Iran during the Revolution.

Wise, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, Persepolis tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq.

The intelligent and outspoken child of radical Marxists, and the great-grandaughter of Iran's last emperor, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life.

Amidst the tragedy, Marjane's child's eye view adds immediacy and humour, and her story of a childhood at once outrageous and ordinary, beset by the unthinkable and yet buffered by an extraordinary and loving family, is immensely moving. It is also very beautiful; Satrapi's drawings have the power of the very best woodcuts.

'The magic of Marjane Satrapi's work is that it can condense a whole country's tragedy into one poignant, funny scene after another' Independent on Sunday

**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**

  • Published: 1 July 2003
  • ISBN: 9780224064408
  • Imprint: Jonathan Cape
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 160
  • RRP: $39.99
Categories:

About the author

Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi was born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran. She now lives in Paris where she is a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers throughout the world, including the New Yorker and the New York Times. She is the author of several children's books, as well as the critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling memoir Persepolis, which has been translated into twelve languages, and was awarded the first Fernando Bueso Blanco Peace Prize in Spain. Her other books include Embroideries and Chicken With Plums.

Also by Marjane Satrapi

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Praise for Persepolis

Telling the story of Satrapi’s childhood in Iran, this is funny, wise and sad.

Stylist

Satrapi grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath; Persepolis is the story of her childhood. Through Marji's youthful (though not-always-innocent) eyes and mind, we see a turbulent moment in history unfold, and we witness the tremendous impact that local and global events and politics can have on even the most intimate moments of personal lives… And we get a very real sense of what it was like to be a woman in Iran during this intense time of cultural and political transition. … Satrapi's deceptively simple, almost whimsical drawings belie the seriousness and rich complexity of her story--but it’s also very funny too.

Emma Watson

Persepolis…has an outward simplicity that utterly beguiles: her black and white drawings resemble old-fashioned woodcuts; her narrative is almost breezily concise.

Rachel Cooke, Royal Academy Magazine

A poignant, deeply moving and – at times – utterly hilarious work of art.

Evening Standard

This touching, funny, illuminating memoir deserves a much wider audience.

Kate Figes, Guardian

The magic of Marjane Satrapi's work is that it can condense a whole country's tragedy into one poignant, funny scene after another.

Natasha Walter, Independent on Sunday

Persepolis is a stylish, clever and moving weapon of mass destruction.

David Jenkins, Sunday Telegraph

Marjane Satrapi's books are a revelation. They're funny, they're sad, they're hugely readable. Most importantly, they remind you that the media sometimes tell you the facts but rarely tell you the truth. In one afternoon Persepolis will teach you more about Iran, about being an outsider, about being human, than you could learn from a thousand hours of television documentaries and newspaper articles. And you will remember it for a very long time.

Mark Haddon

I cannot praise enough Marjane Satrapi's moving account of growing up as a spirited young girl in revolutionary and war-time Iran. Persepolis is disarming and often humorous but ultimately it is shattering.

Joe Sacco

An adult and difficult story but [accompanied by]very simple black and white illustrations, comic book style, and it is exceptionally powerful... show the amazing power and depth that can come from a literary story shown through words and images

Ink Pellet

Moving, funny, and anarchic.

Catherine Taylor