Rest in Peace Marjane Satrapi – As an aside, our 2026 reader survey is open until 7 June – anonymous, roughly five minutes. Please take a moment.
Thanks to Agni for bringing this to our attention. I remember reading Persepolis years ago and it definitely does provide a different perspective on the Iranian Revolution.
From CNN:
French-Iranian artist and activist Marjane Satrapi, whose graphic novel “Persepolis” brought home the struggle of the Iranian people to millions around the world, has died. She was 56.
A statement from the Élysée Palace announcing her death Thursday lauded Satrapi’s work, saying her work “captivated a global audience.”
“Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure in French culture and an artist deeply committed to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim,” the Élysée said.
And:
Satrapi’s work spanned numerous graphic novels – which she preferred to call “comic books” and films. In 2019, she directed “Radioactive,” a British biographical drama film starring Rosamund Pike as Marie Curie.
But she was also an outspoken critic of Iran’s ruling establishment and a prominent supporter of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement that emerged after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022.
Iranian women human rights group, the Narges Foundation described Satrapi as “a fearless advocate for feminism, women’s rights” and as someone who “champion(ed) the struggles and resilience of Iranian women.”
Not familiar with her works but I think Pakistan should increase cultural exchanges with Iran and Iranians in general – they’re really good at both visual and performing arts and its something we could learn from. They also have some of the best designed cities in Asia. I’m all for reintroducing Farsi as a subject in the Pakistan school curriculum and increasing tourism and exchange programs between both nations.
“Persepolis” is a great work that provides a perspective on how the Iranian Revolution effected one relatively wealthy family.
I haven’t read it for years but may have to give it another look. It’s a graphic novel so a quick read.
I’m all for increased cultural exchanges between Pakistan and Iran. Farsi should definitely be an option at higher education levels. At the primary level, there are enough challenges trying to teach Urdu and English properly.
Yes, I too read it years back. Time to take it out of the bookshelf.
Since its a graphic novel, it somehow brings the entire pre-revolution and revolution days even more to life as compared to a regular novel.
Yes, it’s definitely worth re-reading.
Here’s a suggestion. For your book club, maybe have this as the first book in the series and have our chatterati comment on it. Might distract from the constant war of words on Ind-Pak.
Yes Persian is a Supreme language, the language of Kings, second only to the Divine Languages, Sanskrit (language of the gods) & Arabic (language of God).
Yes, indeed. Especially the Khorasani dialect spoken in Afghanistan.
erm what
Come on, we all know the language of God is biblical Hebrew. /s
Persepolis is one of my favorite movies. What a loss to lose someone so talented at such a young age.