Persepolis Book Club Day 1

Hello! These are the notes from our first discussion about Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi!


  • The text is written for people outside of Iran
  • The graphic novel format makes it more accessible for younger students, but it is also well received by adults, especially college age students
  • The author is very honest to her emotions and her memories. She acknowledges that her memories may be flawed and that this shouldn’t be taken as pure fact
  • Snapshot of a bunch of cultures in a place at the same time and how they progress
  • Predictions: We would see several personal revolutions and several political revolutions
    • Personal revolution: reinventing yourself, growth, identity
      • Every experience you have is going to change you in some kind of way, but not every experience is going to be revolutionary
      • The repercussions of trauma
    • Political revolution:
      • This text is just as relevant today as it was when it was written
  • Missing perspectives?
    • The Iraqi perspective
    • What does it look like to a person in Marjane’s position living in Iraq
  • What is omitted?
    • Things she hasn’t experienced

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