The Complete Persepolis (A book you all should read!) :)

         I absolutely loved the book: The Complete Persepolis. It was informative, captivating, historical and stunning. As soon as I started reading the book, I was instantly hooked. The narrative format, and the design of the book made it appealing and easy read, yet the content was powerful and emotive. Perhaps the fact that the story line begins from a little girl’s perspective made it even more profound. The story revolves around Marji, a young girl living in Tehran in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Marji starts telling the story from her perspective as a 10 year old. It’s pretty impressive to see the growth, the changes and the maturation of Marji as time goes by and as the book evolves. I highly recommend the book to you guys! It is a book that will open up hearts and minds to foreign affairs and toils of people across from the world. It will also educate and introduce matters that might still continue to make news today.

Marjane Satrapi

In a world where constant change surrounds us, where our character and values are tested, especially in a country foreign to us, it’s very hard to remain faithful to personal believes and principles. This is exactly what Marji endured, and she tells the story with passion, humor, and sentiment. As I started reading the book I became interested in the history of Iran, I also sympathized with the Satrapi family and I even cried. It’s interesting to note that Marji has a witty sense of humor and she’s very intelligent. And as the story is being told I laughed, I felt the pain or anger that she felt and I feel the emotions that she’s portraying. And this is what a good writer should evoke in the reader.

I must admit that as I read the book I realized how little I know of other religions and countries. My interest sparked and I did a little more or research by reading and talking to people who lived in Iran. To my surprise their stories were similar to the ones from Marji. Only they were a little bit younger and they never went back once they left their homes. Overall, it was just as interesting as reading the book. Hearing this from other people who have the same views towards this issues was strengthened the opinion I already had about the political power in Iran. Far from being a political book though, this is a captivating memoir that opened up a new world for me to discover.

Overall, the book was wonderfully written and because I was able to identify some of my personal sentiments with those of Marji, the book became very dear to me. The main part of this book was discovering oneself in the midst of chaos and rebellion. Just like Marji, I also struggle to maintain my identity and values in this ever-changing world. Not just because I live in a country that doesn’t have the same culture as I do, but because I want to fit in.  But to what degree do I want to fit in? I had to ask myself that question too, what would I exchange in order to fit in? The answer came later in life, when I was twenty five years old I knew that I wouldn’t give up anything about my background because that is part of what makes up the “self” in me. Part of this is the respect towards my parents as huge part of my life, just like Marji, I cried in the end when her mom passed away. She’s right, even in today’s world, freedom still has a price. 

Stay tuned for another awesome book I'm currently reading!