Persepolis

 
 

Sartrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis. NY: Pantheon.

This graphic novel is based on the author's life growing up in Iran and the changes that took place during her youth.  When they were at war her parents sent her to Austria at 14 to continue her schooling.  She returned at 18 and was very rebellious. They have to wear a veil with a hood, you had to have your body covered, and no makeup.  She ended up getting married at 21to have more freedoms and in the end divorced him and went to France to get away from the oppression in Iran. 

I can't imagine my parents sending me at 14 to live on my own.  It is amazing the things that she has experienced in her life and how strong she was to live through them.  This would be a great book to give another view of the changes that happened in Iran and how women's rights were taken away and their lives became very oppressive. 

The style of this book is that it is written as a graphic novel. It takes really hard to read in terms of content and makes it easier to read and gives you more insight into what the author was really feeling while growing up in Iran by using the pictures to illustrate the content.