# Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

16 Hacker News commenters recommended Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Praised as a moving, memorable graphic memoir of pre-revolution and revolutionary Iran. Critics say the second half is harder going.

## Why people recommend it

- Meaningful, memorable, speaks uncomfortable truths (4 comments): "Great literature does not exist to be heartwarming but to speak fundamental truths, however uncomfortable they are." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400405)) "I don't think her story is poorly written, and I think it is quite memorable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48399625)) "That "bad" part is where her story becomes more valuable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403191))
- Beautiful art and storytelling (3 comments): "A beautiful work of art. I would recommend to anyone reading this comment to order the first book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403572)) "I thought it was beautiful. She was an extremely talented storyteller" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48404248)) "how precisely it captured the artistic intent of the book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48398755))
- Fresh perspective unlike other books (3 comments): "the graphic novel is excellent. Up there with Maus in terms of showing you a new perspective." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48398715)) "Both parts are excellent in their own right, and quite unlike any other book I've read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48398930)) "Persepolis is tremendously more realistic than the hero's journey" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48399369))
- Vivid picture of revolutionary Iran (2 comments): "The graphic novel was very good, showing what Iran must have felt like to iranians before the revolution" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48398412)) "it's a very well written personal memoir that shows what the revolution felt like" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400502))

## What people warn about

- Second half harder to get through (1 comments): "I always enjoyed the first half of Persepolis. The second half of Persepolis was much more difficult for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48398023))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/transmetropolitan.md): 5 recommend
- [Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou](https://hackerapproved.com/p/logicomix.md): 5 recommend
- [Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gender-queer.md): 4 recommend
- [Frontier by Guillaume Singelin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/frontier.md): 4 recommend
- [The One by Rick Veitch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/one.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/009952399X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780099523994) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi", https://hackerapproved.com/p/persepolis/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).