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Comics & Graphic Novels |
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Persepolis, vol. 1 (En Espanol)/ Persepolis vol. 1 (Persepolis)/ Spanish Edition
written by Marjane Satrapi
Studio : Public Square Books
by Public Square Books
Publisher : Public Square Books
Released : 2004-06-25
Availability : Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781594970351
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 13 reviews)
List Price : $22.95
Our Price : $17.90
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Product Description |
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Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In four volumes. Persepolis on Library Journal's List of Best Books of 2003 & Young Adult Library Services 2004 List of Best Books for Young Adults. 2004 HARVEY WINNER FOR BEST U.S. EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL. [An] extraordinary autobiography....A remarkable, revealing, and sometimes startling account, this is sure to be one of the most important graphic novels of the year. Highly recommended. --Library Journal |
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Persepolis |
The Complete Persepolis: Now a Major Motion Picture
This is an excellent movie. I was moved and amused. I laughed and I cried. I actually bought copies for all my friends. I was so impressed I bought the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi which was also excellent. Thank you Marjane. |
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Good for mainstream and comic veterans alike |
Persepolis as a whole is part of a not-so-new wave of comics that bring true, accessible life stories into the format of comics/sequential art. It seems that now, when I talk to "serious literature" people about comics, they immediately mention Persepolis (just had a movie out) and Art Spiegleman's Maus (done in the 80's with no movie likely to ever come out. I'm still waiting for mention of Optic Nerve and it looks like following this summer's Dark Knight movie, a lot more people will be watching the Watchmen.
Persepolis is more definitely Maus than Watchmen. Satrapi's sometimes magical-looking visual choices provide a device similar to Spiegelman's choice to cast Jews as mice and Nazis as cats in his major work. Persepolois also does an excellent job of humanizing another socio-political event. It is perhaps an excellent piece to read currently with the various tensions with Iran/Persia and the nations surrounding it. Satrapi's story has brilliant intersections of the personal and political and does an excellent job of giving appropriate attention to both.
In thinking about what audiences might best benefit from this, I'd say that most adults could find both volumes accessible and perhaps enjoyable. The second volume might be a bit more GP-13 or R, so if anyone's looking to get this onto a high school curriculum, that might be a bit difficult with mentions of sex, drugs, & rock n' roll. I'd think that most high school audiences could deal with it well, as Satrapi's presentation of those issues, as with all others in both volumes, is well-contextualized as a real human experience rather than given a shallow glamour treatment. |
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A wonderful book about angst in Iran. |
What a fantastic graphic novel! If you normally don't read graphic novels (or comic books), don't be afraid, the pictures won't hurt you and the stories are only enhanced by this format. Buy the box set because the first book will only leave you wanting more.
The books are composed of short stories of events in the author's life. Some of them seem really simple, but they all have an underlying message. It may be simply pointing out the joy of moment's of rebellion (getting an Iron Maiden poster was a huge deal to this girl!), or much more serious commentary on the imprisonment and execution of family or friends. Each story is short but each provides a picture into life in Iran in the late 1970s and 1980s.
I confess to know nothing about Iran or its history. These books have introduced me to a culture that is both old and new. A lot of the extreme conservative movement is really quite young as you learn in this book and the stories show you that the people of Iran are like any other. Marjane wants what any young girl wants these days - freedom to pursue her dreams and self-expression. It is surprising to find that many Iranians felt this way in the 1970s. You also start to understand the patriotism that people in Iran have - not necessarily for the tyrants in charge but for the culture that has existed for so long. It is similar to how many feel today in the U.S. - you can be a patriot despite disagreeing with the policy of the country's leaders.
The illustrations are very simple in form but have a great impact. For example, you feel the oppression that beards have when drawn as almost a wall of black bearded chins. The emotion is conveyed very well in these simple drawings.
I recommend this book to anybody, even if new to the idea of graphic novels. By the way, some of the best literature comes out in this format. |
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Brilliant and moving work! |
I loved every minute reading this book. Being a comic or graphic novel, whichever one prefers, I was both invested in the life of Marjane Satrapi as well as the illustrations. The drawings really brought the whole story to life with her incredible enthusiasm of how the expressions on the faces really matched what was being said. The story of her life is so compellingly told that one is caught up in her passions and pains.
I just loved it! I laughed with her. I cried with her. I cheered her on! She is a woman with a unique voice, both in her experiences of standing up for herself by being straightforward and blunt (and quite rational in her reasoning), but also in her own narrative. It is swiftly told, but not leaving it too general or to overlook any of the details. Being a Westerner and having little knowledge of Persian history, it was actually a very welcome introduction to what has happened in the Middle East. She is roughly my age so I identified with her and the time period she grew up in (despite the social climates being so different).
Satrapi tells the story of things from her point of view. What I did enjoy about it was that she was fond of her own country, but also recognized its own shortcomings. Her fears were real and she stood up to them when she felt it most necessary. She challenged authority at every corner. And, if you ask me, she won!
But I think what also moved me was that is was told in a graphic narrative. The illustrations, as I said, were spot on. I think her style of art supports her story and helps relate the happenings much better than if were just a book. To me it made the book more enjoyable and humorous.
It has just been released as a movie and I am excited to see the film as it matches the style of book perfectly. I don't see anyone who reads even the first 20 pages would be able to stop. I am glad someone suggested the books for me to read as I now want to buy a copy for myself.
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Persepolis 1 & 2 |
In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi tells a story in words and pictures of her life in Iran. The first book covers Satrapi's life from early childhood, until 14, when she leaves to study in Austria, and the second book covers her time in Europe, and her return to life in Iran up to her late 20s. This period covers the last years of the Shah, the revolution that overthrew him, the consolidation of the Islamic Republic, the war with Iraq, and through to the present. A tumultuous time indeed.
You would expect any account of growing up in Iran in the last generation to be heartbreaking and terrifying, and Satrapi's story is, but it is also funny in a grim sort of way that can only be told from inside a nightmare. Most impressive is that the author does not spare herself. She writes as unflinchingly about her own flaws, petty cruelties and bad decisions as she does about those of all those around her. The lessons learned are not idealized, and sometimes they are only partially learned, so her travel through life feels very real and very human.
Part of the appeal of the story to Westerners, of course, is that Marjane is a very modern Iranian woman. Raised in a very modern family that is upper middle class by Iranian standards, she struggles with social mores and the education system and we root for her because Westerners (particularly Americans) love stories about individuals overcoming adversity to become their own person. But that doesn't explain all of the story's appeal. What makes it so satisfying is the insight into the issue of modernity, and how it manifests through the life of a interesting and all too human character. We come to understand that being modern and being Western aren't the same thing. The West is an undeliably strong influence on Marjane and other modern Iranians, but in the story, simply copying Western ways proves unsatisfying at a minimum, and sometimes disasterous.
Ultimately, the story is about finding -- actually creating -- a life that is both modern and Persian. It is a tortorous path, and one that Marjane often has to tread alone. Marjane's friends follow the regime's draconian moral code in public, but break out the party life in private. Yet Marjane eventually comes to see this as a kind of adolescent rebellion against a parental force that cannot, at present, be overcome. An incident that illustrates this is her revelation to her closest friends that she's having sex with her boyfriend. Their shock and disapproval jars her into the realization that modern is a relative concept even amoung modern Iranians.
Marjane weathers her trials and emerges with a sort of wisdom. We admire her for it because she earned it the hard way. But we also hope, fervently, that people like Marjane will thrive, for they are the ones who will lead Iran into the future.
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