I've had enough. This book is GREAT, and you haven't read it yet. Seriously? Last year, The Complete Persepolis was the "One Book, One Philadelphia", a program specifically designed "to promote reading, literacy and libraries, and to encourage the entire greater Philadelphia area to come together through reading and discussing a single book" and STILL you haven't read it...I mean, the book that EVERYONE in my city was supposed to read was a graphic novel. Do you have any idea how my heart swelled with pride when I heard that? Or how it sunk to the floor when I realized none of my peers would read it unless I brought them warm milk and read it to them like a bedtime story. Its a true personal account of a pivotal event in history, and on top of that, the author's really cool...I mean REALLY cool...Albert Camus before the war cool...Neil Gaiman toward the end of Sandman cool... But I digress--
The Complete Persepolis is a compilation of the original graphic novel and its sequel (Persepolis and Persepolis 2) first published in 2000 (french) and 2003 (English). Its an biographical depiction of the life of author, Marjane Satrapi, from early childhood to early adulthood. People frequently compare it to Maus, but I feel as though Maus' holocaust depiction was purposely obscured by the anthro characters, and it was clearly a black and white good guys vs bad guys story, whereas Persepolis MUCH more real. Like, there's no part in there where you'd wonder "Did this really happen?" whether it really did happen or not. And the motivations of the antagonists are much more ambiguous. The artwork is off-putting at first. I thought it was quirky and over-stylized, but once i started reading, i realized how seamlessly it depicts the story. As far as I'm concerned Persepolis is a perfect comic. I know, that's a HUGE statement, but that's what I think about it and I'm reasonably certain that you will too...once you get off your couch, turn off _______ Reality Show, and GO READ PERSEPOLIS!
As ever, I'm including a link to buy this book from amazon (or if you're on the fence, go to the library!)
