Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood.

By Marjane Satrapi

"War always takes you by surprise," writes Iranian born, Paris-based artist Marjane Satrapi in her latest book. This memoir, written in a series of comic strips, recounts Satrapi's childhood in Iran between the ages of 4 and 14. In the book, Satrapi depicts her account of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent eight-year Iran-Iraq war. Combining simple, yet poignant black-and-white illustrations with wry, witty commentary, Satrapi offers the reader a unique glimpse into a country that, for many, continues to remain a source of both fascination and confusion.

I was born in Tehran at the height of the Iranian Revolution, so it was easy for me to relate to Sarrapi's storylines. The underlining theme throughout Persepolis is that of a girl wanting to live a "normal" life (despite the governmental restrictions imposed on her).

Current events, including the renewed interest in Iran's nuclear weapons program and the ongoing demonstrations in Iran calling for a more democratic regime, add further relevance to such a book. Satrapi's personal history, as the only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, also undoubtedly contributes to the brilliance of the narratives.

Running the gamut from Satrapi's schoolmate crushes and fondness for punk bands like Iron Maiden to more serious storylines such as the torturing and ultimate assassination of her beloved uncle Anoosh, Satrapi conveys each story with charm and honesty. Perhaps most effectively, the book helps explain the ongoing culture clash that emerges in a country whose people are torn between fundamentalism and secular living. Along these lines, Satrapi recounts a run-in with the Guardians of the Revolution in which she narrowly escapes being punished for wearing Nike shoes, a denim jacket, and a Michael Jackson button, all regarded as symbols of Western decadence and corruption. In another strip, Satrapi's father distracts a government official so that she and her mother can flush bottles of wine down the toilet before their home is searched. The Iranian government's strict Islamic code bans alcohol, though Satrapi writes that this did not prevent the Iranian people from drinking.

Persepolis has already been well received in France, where it was first published, and has elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus and David B's Epileptic. Though its form, the graphic novel, may not be familiar to some readers, it is precisely this format, a fusion of the visual and written mediums, that allows the book to have the potency it does.

Persepolis offers more than just a historical recount of past events; it adds a human face to those times. Satrapi has been quoted as saying that one of her goals in writing the book was to debunk some of the misconceptions associated with present-day Iran and its label as "an axis of evil." In just 153 pages, Satrapi certainly does that and more, despite the fact that, as she herself writes, "the truth is sometimes hard to accept."

Satrapi is currently in Paris working on a sequel to Persepolis.