Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Revisiting Persepolis

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

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There’s a point in Persepolis where Marjane says she’s too Western for Iran and too Iranian for the West. Re-reading this graphic novel with an extra decade of life and a deeper understanding of what makes the West the “West” and how we ‘other’ cultures different from our own, brings me to a more challenging conclusion. Satrapi’s tale is ‘More Western’ than Iranian.   That’s not a criticism nor a reduction of the rich cultural heritage that runs through this book. It exists as her […]

First they convinced them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

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CBR11 BINGO: Illustrated (BINGO! Reading the TBR corner to Cannonballer Says corner) First, I want to say that the un-athletic yet competitive side of me is totally appreciating this BINGO situation. I enjoyed it last year, but I was less prepared for it. Now, the actual searching for books that fit into the squares that are more difficult for me is actually broadening my reading base in unexpected ways. Bravo, CBR idea makers! I bought a copy of this illustrated novel a few years ago for my son. His middle […]

Sex, drugs and a little rock-n-roll in Iran

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

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Interestingly, in several ways I liked Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return better than the first book. And yet, I enjoyed the first book more. I put this towards Marjane Satrapi’s continuation of the first book by picking up where she left off but this time showing more growth. Literally (she has a growth spurt and puberty hits hard) and figuratively (learning about “new” authors, ideas, respect different cultures seem to have, values, drugs and more.). Though about the same amount of years go […]

Picture it: Iran 1979 and the world will never be the same

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by  Marjane Satrapi

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#cbr11bingo #banned Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1) by Marjane Satrapi (translated by Matia Ripa), was not what I expected. On one hand, I really had no idea what to expect; on the other hand, I had preconceived notions. But what it boils down to is, I am not sure I really liked this book. Or liked Satrapi. Many books I have come away with a feeling of, “I could be friends with that author.” Or at least, we could have a conversation as we […]

Of course it would cost something, but he was an expert in cutting corners; and when there were no more corners left he would make circles rounder.

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The Magic Barrel – 5/5 Stars This story collection came out in 1959 and contains the well known title story, but also has several other very good stories. It won the National Book Award as well. As I have previously stated in reviews, the age of the writer (here in a kind of debut effort) lends itself to an already mature and thoughtful work (this was also true for many of Raymond Chandler’s stories as well as the story collection A Lucky Man by Jamel […]

He kisses—how do I explain it? Like someone in love. Like he has nothing to lose. Like someone who has just learned a foreign language and can use only the present tense and only the second person. Only now, only you.

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Less – 3/5 Stars This is the novel that won the Pulitzer Prize this year, and I do like it. But it’s almost like Andrew Sean Greer tricked or taunted the Pulitizer Committee into giving him the prize since this is a novel about a slightly failed or at least merely moderately successful writer putzing around while others around him remind him of his own mediocrity or middlingness but doing things like winning the Pulitzer Prize. The novel begins with Less, the eponymous protagonist, being […]



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