Persepolis

Reading Persepolis was a completely new experience for me. I had never read a graphic novel before, and I discovered that I actually really liked it and thought it was the almost perfect medium for a coming-of-age story. And because the Iranian Revolution (and Middle Eastern politics in general) is so complicated, the graphic novel format boiled down the relevant issues and helped me focus on what actually mattered to Marji. I also thought that the graphic novel format helped me understand the characters better than I normally do. Being able to see the Marji’s parents’ faces, her grandmother, and most importantly Marji herself as she progressed throughout the novel, all helped me learn about characterization and character development.

As far as the story itself goes, I was really sad about the progression (or rather, retrogression) of Marji’s relationship with God. Throughout the entire second half, God doesn’t seem to have a presence as all. However, I did appreciate that this is a universal coming-of-age theme – struggling with religion and spirituality – and I thought that it was interesting (but perhaps not telling) that Marji lost God in the midst of a religious war.