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[jfb]

So, Persepolis was great. It's a graphic novel--wait, no, it's a graphic autobiography about Marjane Satrapi's childhood in Iran, before, during, and after the Iranian revolution. The art is simple but expressive, the story is gripping, and the protagonist is completely charming.

And it touches on those questions of patriotism that are often on my mind. To what do you owe your allegiance: To a government? A history? A geography? Characters in this book--the lucky ones--have to make these decisions. The unlucky ones don't get to choose for themselves.

Books rarely affect my dreams--I'm more of a movie guy. But a few nights ago, I dreamed that my family and I were living in post-revolution Iran, and required to well, watch movies, newsreel-style footage of the heroes of the revolution. This was the first night in a while that I hadn't read from Persepolis; my theory is that my psyche was enjoying the story so much it had to fill in for the book's absence.

Next up on my Iran reading list (as soon as it gets back to the library): Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Comments

[jfb.livejournal.com]

YEAH, although, thanks to anti-comics prejudice, I bet a lot of libraries won't have Persepolis. I broke my halfhearted book-buying ban because I knew my library wouldn't have it... although I just discovered I was wrong. Oh well, I'm kind of happy to have a copy I can keep.