Graphic Novel

When I first found out that the book we had to read for IS was a graphic novel, I was not very happy. I have no interest in comics or art or anything of the sort, so I was definitely not looking forward to reading Persepolis. To my surprise, I didn't completely end up hating it. The pictures made the story go by much faster and made it easier for me to get into a story I most definitely wouldn't have chosen to read about on my own. Without the pictures, I don't think I would have completely understood the war and the revolution that took place in Iran either. In addition, if the story was written in just text, I think it would have been a little too depressing. The bits of humor sprinkled into the drawings turn a pretty heavy story into a fairly easy read. There were things that I definitely didn't like as well. I really did not like all the politics in the book. I realize that politics and war and revolution were the things that shaped Marji's life the most, but I just have no interest in reading about them. I got pretty bored during the parts where politics were discussed. Also, I didn't really like Marji very much as a character. I respect her courage and her tenacity, but I just disagreed completely with some of the decisions she made, especially about drugs. Due to personal experiences, I have very little respect for people who choose to destroy their lives and the lives of those around them with drugs and have virtually no pity for them either. (I could go on about this forever, but that's a story for another blog.) Overall the experience of reading Persepolis wasn't terrible, and I almost actually liked the story. As for graphic novels as a whole, I realize now that they are much more than just really long comics, and given the right story, I think they can be a very effective medium.