Drawn to her past

Graphic novelist writes about final days of uncle's life

Erika Gonzalez, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 25, 2006 at midnight

Text size

More Books

More stories »

For author Marjane Satrapi, words are not enough. To convey the rich and sometimes tragic stories about her life and her family, Satrapi combines text with stark but effective black-and-white drawings. That link has made her graphic novels best-sellers and critical favorites. "Persepolis," her coming-of- age tale about growing up during Iran's Islamic Revolution, has been translated into six languages.

Her latest work, "Chicken with Plums," explores the last eight days of her uncle Nasser Ali Khan's life. Satrapi imagines the revered sitar player died of a broken heart. News entertainment writer Erika Gonzalez spoke with the fast-talking graphic novelist, who now lives in Paris, about her new book and serving as a representative of Iranian culture.

Question: Your uncle died more than a decade before you were born, so I'm curious about what inspired you to write his story?

Answer: I should say that the basis of the book is that sometime ago I went to see my own uncle who was a sitar player and he showed me a picture of Nasser Ali Khan. He was a handsome man and the first inspiration came from the beauty of the man. (Laughs) If he was ugly, he wouldn't have inspired me as much. Everyone knew he was a great musician and that he died for some strange reason, but nobody knew of what. All the rest is made up.

After having written Persepolis, which was a long work and very political and very educational, I wanted to so badly to write a story about love. I wanted to write about who an artist is. He is extremely charming and at the same time, extremely unbearable. He was really mean once in a while and that's how I consider myself.

Q: Because you didn't know your uncle, did you have to do much research before you started writing?

A: The good thing is I was the best friend of all the old people of my family. What was unbearable for other people - these extremely slow, extremely long stories that nobody wanted to listen to - that was exactly what I loved. It was always interesting for me. I had treasure for stories I had been told and I have a very good memory. If I talk about a historical fact, I will do research to be as precise as possible.

Q: Do you feel that as a result of your books, you've become a sort of spokesperson for Iranian culture?

A: Unfortunately, yes. . . . I never pretended to be a historian or sociologist or politician. I am a person born in a certain time and certain place and I am writing about what I've seen with my own eyes. Now despite myself, I have become a voice of a whole generation. If that's it, then you know that I assume it and try to be the best I can. It's not something I was looking for.

Q: I read once that you were against the idea of creating a television series based on Persepolis, so what made you decide to turn the two-volume autobiography into an animated film?

A: I thought, if you make a real feature out of it they (the audience) will not relate to it. The black-and-white images make it so anyone can identify to this story. What happened in Iran is close to what happened in Chile and China and other places.

Q: Do you think you'll ever return to Iran?

A: It doesn't depend on me. The situation in the region is really bad and it doesn't seem like it's going to get better. We're living in an extremely unsecular world and thanks to Bush, it has become a more unsecular world, so we'll see. I can live anywhere, but I hope at least to be able to die in my own country.

Marjane Satrapi

• When and where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Tattered Cover Book Store, 1628 16th St.,

• Cost: free

• Information: 303-436-1070 or www.tatteredcover.com

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News