Chicken with Plums

Chicken With Plums - Marjane Satrapi
Original French Title: Poulet aux prunes

       If the name and art-style seems familiar, Marjane Satrapi is probably best known for her two-part graphic novel Persepolis about growing up during the time of the Iranian Revolution which was made into a Academy Award Nominated 2007 film by the same name. 

       Chicken With Plums, like Persepolis and Embroideries is in written in the black and white graphic novel format and deals with another story from her family: that of Nasser Ali Khan, her great-uncle and apparently a celebrated Iranian musician in the 1950s.  When her uncle's favorite musical instrument is broken and he can find no reasonable replacement, he gives up on life and simply waits in his bedroom for death.

       While this sounds a depressing premise, the book really isn't such.  This is a sometimes humorous, heart felt, and short tale.  At under 100 pages and just over one week's worth of story time, I'm surprised how well Satrapi is able to create a character the reader cares about.  If you're already a fan of Marjan Satrapi's earlier works, its a must read.

       If you've not yet read her earlier works, I'd recommend possibly starting with the more famous Persepolis, although Chicken With Plums is a mostly stand-alone work that succeeds on its own. According to the fountain of all knowledge on the internet, a live-action film based upon the book is to be released in France sometime this year.

Rating: 4.5 of 5.