Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers of major plot points of the novel.

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, was a very heartbreaking novel that displayed a thrill- ride of emotions throughout the book.  The book covers Satrapi’s childhood up to her early adult years during the Islamic Revolution.

The story begins simply enough with the main character, Satrapi, having a discussion with God. That is a major factor in the plot of the entire book and mostly her whole life. There is a change throughout the book with her relationship with God. Without love, trust, and wisdom from God, she isn’t going to be able to survive the hardships that are heading her way in the near future.

Another important factor in the book is when Satrapi’s neighborhood was bombed.  She experiences a traumatic event where she sees the bracelet of one of her friends. This is a  moment in Satrapi’s life that reveals everything has now changed because she now see the horrors of real life. Once you have such a traumatic event in your life, you come to the realization that the world is not always the best place. At the end of the chapter, we encounter Satrapi coping with the emotions over the loss of her friend.

The last important factor of the book was her parents telling her that she was going to be moving to a different country to be able to have a better advantage in the world. Throughout the chapter the reader sees Satrapi experience only one emotion, which leaves us clueless to what she really thinking about this ongoing journey.

Overall, I believe that the book was amazing and informative throughout the whole thing except the end, which was pretty meaningless. When I first read the end, I had to turn the page back and make sure I was not missing any pages in between.  When you read it, it is almost as if the book is predictable.  I asked myself, “Is this really all that happens?” and closed my book.There are so many better ways that Satrapi could have ended the book. Satrapi could have continued the story to reveal how she was feeling on her plane ride or show her emotions as she watched her mother faint.