Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

I just finished reading my first graphic novel, which was The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Having never read a "graphic novel" before, although this was more of a memoir than a novel, I really didn't know how I'd like it. I loved it. The combination of drawings and minimal text was a powerful way to tell this story.

In Persepolis, Satrapi tells her life story beginning with her childhood in Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution. She details how life changed during and after this event, including being forced to wear the veil and seeing friends and family members imprisoned for opposing the government. Satrapi's parents send her to Austria and she describes the difficulties she had fitting in there, until eventually, she returns to Iran. Satrapi goes on to describe the difficulties of being a young adult in Iran, including the difficulties of having romantic relationships.

Like I said, I really loved this book. I was familiar with the history of Iran to the point that it's described in the book, but it was interesting to see it from a little girl's perspective. It was also interesting to see the contrast of how people had to act in public compared with what they did behind closed doors. I also loved the drawings in this book, they are very simple, black and white drawings, but they manage to convey a lot of information. After reading Persepolis, I will definitely read more graphic novels, as well as more by Satrapi.