Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Vol. 1, p. 15 (L'Association, 2000)

"Iran Shutting Down Morality Police, Official Says, After Months of Protests - New York Times headline today

When Marjane Satrapi decided this spring to sell the original artwork to the first volume of her acclaimed graphic novel Persepolis, she did not foresee that Iran would be undergoing another period of sweeping anti-government protests by the time the art finally hit the auction block in October: "I could never have imagined [the sale] would be in the context of the incredible scenes we are seeing in Iran today...When I set out to write my story, I also could not have imagined that its message would be so universal."

Persepolis vol. 1 is Satrapi's semi-autobiographical account of her childhood in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution of the late 1970s up to the point where her family, fearing for her safety, sends her off to Austria to study. Published in 2000, the book became a global phenomenon, selling millions of copies worldwide. It is routinely cited as among the best and most influential graphic novels of all-time.

Vol. 1 chronicles the life of 10-year old Marji as protests grow against the Shah's regime, leading to his exile with a repressive religious fundamentalism then taking over the country and restricting social freedoms, especially for women. Told from the viewpoint of the young Marji, the book is sad, funny, insightful and poignant. A French friend of mine gifted me the book back around 2010 and its story has stayed with me ever since.

In this page, Marji tells her parents that she wants to protest against the Shah in the streets with the demonstrators and then, sent to bed, wonders where God (with whom she has periodic imagined conversations in the story) is that evening.