February 2007: Persepolis (Satrapi)

Post date: Jan 07, 2010 8:56:16 PM

Marjane Satrapi's graphic memoir Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood drew quite a crowd to Jane's living room on February 13th, 2007! About 17 readers spanning the usual age-range (class of '47 through '05) discussed the graphic form of story-telling, comparing it to films and story-boarding, measuring whether each picture tells 1000 words and whether for certain content the image carried more weight of immediate impact than a verbal description would do. We wondered if syllabi for Smith coursework include any graphic novels or comic books, and whether this medium is literature or not. Certainly it told the story of a girl's life growing up in Iran under the Shah and afterwards, of her educated, liberal, privileged family's struggles under the regime that pulled girls out of schools and forced women to cover their heads in public, where friends and family members were imprisoned and tortured, and the author's teenage punk phase had to be lived indoors behind the black curtains protecting their privacy. Both the content and the medium provided much to discuss about this book, and several readers recommended the sequel for more information about the next chapter in Satrapi's life.

Thanks to Jane for hosting!