Um retrato íntimo das mulheres iranianas, repleto de revelações sobre sexo, casamento e vida em família sob um regime opressor. Da autora de Persépolis.

Os almoços de família na casa da avó de Marjane Satrapi, em Teerã, terminavam sempre com o mesmo ritual: enquanto os homens iam fazer a sesta, as mulheres lavavam a louça. Logo depois começava uma sessão cujo acesso só era permitido a elas — o "bordado", tema deste que é o terceiro livro de Satrapi publicado pela Companhia das Letras. Os leitores de Persépolis reconhecerão aqui as marcas registradas da autora: o humor cortante, o traço simples em preto e branco, o feminismo mordaz, jamais patrulheiro.

O "bordado" iraniano seria equivalente ao brasileiríssimo "tricô", não fosse uma acepção bastante particular: a expressão designa também a cirurgia de reconstituição do hímen, uma decisão pragmática para as mulheres que não abrem mão de ter vida sexual antes do casamento mas sabem que precisam corresponder às expectativas das forças moralistas do país.

O grupo que se reúne na casa da avó de Marjane, a mesma que conhecemos em Persépolis, é uma amostra de mulheres com moral e experiência bastante variadas, mas sempre às voltas com o machismo e a tradição, sobretudo depois da Revolução Islâmica (1979). Casamentos malfadados, virgindades roubadas, adultérios, frustrações, golpes e autoenganos, narrados com a ironia tão peculiar à autora, mostram que no Irã amar e desamar pode ser ainda mais complicado do que podemos supor.

In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed memoir-in-comic-strips.

Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming—both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.

Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom— Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.

Wise, often funny, sometimes heart-breaking, Persepolis tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran, growing up during the Iranian Revolution. The intelligent and outspoken child of radical Marxists, and the great-grandaughter of Iran's last emperor, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Amidst the tragedy, Marjane's child's eye view adds immediacy and humour, and her story of a childhood at once outrageous and ordinary, beset by the unthinkable and yet buffered by an extraordinary and loving family, is immensely moving. 'The magic of Marjane Satrapi's work is that it can condense a whole country's tragedy into one poignant, funny scene after another' Independent on Sunday **ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**