The graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi about her childhood during and after Iran’s Islamic Revolution is Persepolis.
Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic narrative about Satrapi’s upbringing in Iran and her later experiences abroad. It begins in Tehran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and follows the effects of political change, war, compulsory dress codes, and social repression on her family.
The work was originally published in French in two parts. Its black-and-white artwork uses a direct, highly readable style that contrasts with the complexity of the historical events it depicts.
The title refers to Persepolis, the ancient ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire near modern Shiraz. Readers sometimes confuse Persepolis with Satrapi’s later memoir, Embroideries, which focuses on conversations among women in her family rather than presenting the same continuous childhood narrative.