Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

Aug 30, 2010 12:52



Embroideries
by Marjane Satrapi
(Graphic Novel)
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3969084

I haven't read Persepolis but I did see the movie, so I was already familiar with the style of storytelling and art. The subject matter took me off guard at first with its bluntness. But the thing that first startled me was also what I most admired the book for. It felt so real; like you were sitting in the living room with this group of women and talking with them. Their dialogue was so realistic and familiar; I know people who would have replied that way or would have reacted to the stories that way.

I went back and forth from being a little shocked to amused. But most of all, I just liked hearing the stories, knowing they were real, and feeling for the different characters in their unique situations. Without evev trying, it speaks to the culture and the situations these women find themselves in that are different from my culture, but it's also a book of personal accounts/narratives so you can't be broad and apply those to everyone. That's what makes the book both broad and specific at the same time.

It ended a bit too abruptly for my liking (I'm not sure I get the last line, actually, *blush*) and I had trouble keeping a few of the women straight in my head (was SHE the one with the friend who so-and-so or was she the one who did such-and-such?). And it certainly didn't pack the same sort of punch that Persepolis or Fun Home or Maus did. But I did enjoy the read and think it works quite well as a memoir in graphic novel format.

author: s, title: e, genre: graphic novel, book review

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