Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

32 reviews

markwillnevercry's review against another edition

0.5

So, there is a bit to tell. I really did not like this book. You might think "Ah, so you did not like it, because it was bad", but it wasn't. Marjane Satrapi does a very good job of showing how she grew up and how stuff changed her. However, it felt a bit like listening to your friend go through absolute shit, without recognizing that you also have problems that you have to deal with. Marjane Satrapi just kept going, because she wanted to tell her story and it was uncomfortable to read, specifically the Vienna part. As a separate note, this book is just in general giving the vibe of "i do not care about the way you feel, because i will never reflect on this", so we got slutshaming and fatphobia. I kind of feel like I wasted my time with this book. 

Reading notes:

Momo sucks ass.

She just accused man of a crime he didn't commit? And what she accused him of is not even comparible of her wearing lipstick? And her and her boyfriend are so happy about it? They deserve each other. 

The scene with the pills in uni. Just like, girly, if you have something on your heart, maybe don't throw it at the first person you see?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cursing, Drug abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Hate crime, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

I do not actually remember if there were examples of addiction, alcoholism and drug abuse, but I am not planning to reread the whole book to find them. It felt like they were there, but do not trust my word. Also, ableism is there for like a chapter, but it is bad.

blueteacup's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad

5.0

Persepolis is an extremely interesting and captivating look into life in Iran during and after the revolution.  Satrapi uses political ideology and her graphic art style to paint a picture of what it was like to be a child in a war-torn country, and after that her experience as an immigrant from Southwest Asia in Europe.  

Her socialist leanings lends itself to giving an objective view of the horrors that happened to anyone who was a “threat” to the regime.  She’s not afraid to describe what happens to a Communist young girl before she’s killed for her beliefs, or showing images of people drowned in their own bathtubs.  I appreciated that she didn’t shy away from these graphic descriptions and images when other authors will usually describe things as “unspeakable” and leave it at that, or, worse, describe things in a way that’s meant to be voyeuristic to Western audiences and simultaneously paints Iranaians as both poor and helpless and ruthless and “backwards”.  Her sympathy and love for her country really comes through, even if she is describing horrific scenarios brought on by the government.

Satrapi’s art style lends itself well to the graphic novel medium.  Her simple but still descriptive drawings allow for the novel to be very accessible while still being understandable.  Her expressive depictions of her family, friends and acquaintances paint her life as colourful and full of intrigue.

I really enjoyed this series of graphic novels and would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a better understanding of Iranian history, war and culture, or to anyone who’s interested in auto-biographies of interesting people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, Death, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt

There's a very upsetting scene where her Jewish neighbours' house is blown up by a missile while they're there and are killed. It was very upsetting for me as a Jewish person to read, as the reason they were home was because of Shabbat. It shows up in the chapter titled "Shabbat".

illgiveyouahint's review

dark funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Drug use, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Infidelity, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

cbh's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

I have never read a book that so perfectly captures the feeling of freedom and all that one can gain and lose out of it. It is excellent! An easy page turner, and definitely a must-read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and War

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Torture, Child death, Death, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

daniellekat's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

2.5

Oof. I’m having a really hard time rating this one. On one hand, it was a beautiful look at one girl’s coming of age in an environment of war and oppression. But on the other hand, I really disliked Marjane (which feels harsh because this is non fiction) and the way the narrative was told. Each chapter felt disjointed and somewhat unreliable. I don’t know if I just had high expectations or this just didn’t work for me. Either way I would still recommend because it was an accessible look at the turmoil in Iran during the late 80s and early 90s. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, War, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Xenophobia, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Racism, Drug use, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia and Ableism

orville's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism and Islamophobia

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

So heartbreaking but very punk rock 5🤘

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Confinement, Hate crime, War, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Sexism, Medical trauma, Murder, Genocide, Classism, Religious bigotry, Blood, Death, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

jialianyang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

What a gorgeous graphic novel! Marjane writes and illustrates with honesty, humor and wit to convey her singular experience of her childhood in Iran and Austria, experiencing war and revolution, personal and communal rebellions, fundamentalism and political struggles and more. The graphic novel unfolds in a way that is at once attuned to daily life and Marjane's emotional world, as well as the larger global circumstances that inform her experiences. It is an epic of personal growth and the evolution of a country and a society, connected by a passion for family, home, Iran, friendship, justice and self expression. I felt parented by the meaning making efforts in this journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Sexism, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Blood, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cursing, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Death, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

yashe96's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Misogyny, War, Torture, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Drug use, Death, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexual harassment

pandemonicbaby's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Toxic friendship