Persepolis
Title: Persepolis (volumes 1 & 2)
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Description: Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
Purchase: Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
Favorite Quotes:
In spite of all the dangers, the parties went on. “Without them it wouldn’t be psychologically bearable,” some said. “Without parties we might as well just bury ourselves now,” added the others.
I watched my grandma undress. Each morning, she picked jasmine flowers to put in her bra so that she would smell nice. When she undressed, you could see the flowers fall from her breasts. It was something to see.
It relaxed me to talk to her. It had been so long since I’d been able to talk to someone without having to explain my culture.
“Night brings good counsel,” my grandmother always told me.
I ended up convinced that the only way to get over this last hurdle was to pray.
The regime had understood that one person leaving her house while asking herself: “Are my trousers long enough?” “Is my veil in place?” “Can my makeup be seen?” “Are they going to whip me?” no longer asks herself: “Where is my freedom of thought?” “Where is my freedom of speech?” “My life, is it livable?” “What’s going on in the political prisons?”
I had conformed to society, while I had always wanted to remain in the margins.
Once again, I arrived at my usual conclusion: one must educate oneself.
