Persepolis

This striking graphic novel, reminiscent of Art Spiegelman's Maus, tells the story of the author's childhood with wit and insight. Marjane Satrapi was born in Iran in 1970 and grew up in a time of great upheaval for her country. Reza Shah, the father of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had attempted to Westernise and modernise the country, beginning with the change of name from Persia to Iran in 1935. With the discovery of vast oil resources, Iran became not only very rich but also the object of considerable attention by the Western powers. When Reza Shah declared Iran a neutral zone at the beginning of the Second World War, the Allies invaded and Reza Shah was sent onto exile, and it was not until 1953 that his son, known simply as the Shah, returned to stay on the throne until 1979 when he fled the revolution. Marjane Satrapi was deeply aware of what was happening to her country as she grew up. She was suddenly forced to wear the veil and to be separated from her former friends at a French-run non-religious school who were considered decadent. Her parents were radical Marxists who were constantly in the forefront of the political turmoil that was tearing the country apart, and Marjane's home life was ordered by what was happening on the streets. Ordinary daily life ran alongside seismic changes to her country and its culture. The comic-strip format adds a huge poignancy to her child's eye view of growing up in a rigidly controlled society, a life that was alternately comic and hugely tragic. (Kirkus UK)