강동구립도서관

책소개

헌신적인 마르크스주의자이자 이란 왕조의 위대한 후손인 저자가 여섯 살부터 열네 살까지 테헤란에서 보낸 삶을 이야기한다. 자신과 조국에 대한 거침없고 지적인 이 증언은 강렬한 흑백 이미지의 일러스트 만화로 표현되었다. 그 때문에 아트 슈피겔만의 '쥐Maus'와 비교되며, 프랑스와 미국을 비롯한 13개국의 비평가와 독자들로부터 다양한 찬사를 받았다. 찬란을 문명을 꽃피웠던 '페르시아'가 국제적 천덕꾸러기가 되어가는 과정을 '이란인'의 눈으로 그려낸 이 만화는 샤 정권과 이슬람 혁명, 그리고 모든 것을 황폐화시킨 이라크와의 전쟁을 중점적으로 다룬다. 억압적인 정권 밑에서 계급의 폭력에 시달리면서도 자유를 위해 항변했던 이란인들을 볼 수 있다. 사트라피가 아이의 시점으로 보여주는 폐위된 왕들과 혁명 영웅에 대한 이야기 역시 우리로 하여금 베일에 싸여있던 이란을 새롭게 바라보도록 돕는다. 지금은 이란을 떠나 프랑스에서 생활하고 있지만 자신이 '마지막 선지자'라 믿으며 자랐던 그 시절을 저자는 결코 잊지 않았던 것이다. * 책제목 '페르세폴리스'는 '페르시아의 옛도시'를 뜻한다. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return Here is the continuation of Marjane Satrapi's fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging. Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran. As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up?here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home?it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.