Chicken with Plums

Chicken with Plums
by Marjane Satrapi
Pantheon Books
New York
2006
ISBN: 9780375714757

Plot Summary:
The story of Nasser Ali Khan's final days, interwoven with flashbacks to his formative years, and flash forwards to his family's later generations. After another nasty fight with his wife Nahid, she breaks his beloved musical instrument Tar in a fit of rage. His instrument broken, Nasser Ali slowly spirals downwards into a fitful depression resolving itself in a will to die. Though this resolution comes early, the remaining novel circles around his life, his family, and the history of modern Iran.
Critical Evaluation:
Satrapi's stories are always vividly rendered, the woodcut-style of the accompanying drawings possesses a depth and simplicity all at once--producing emotional effects that are universally felt and aesthetically understood upon immediate reading.
Reader's Annotation:
Nasser Ali Khan loves his tar more than anything, or anyone. After its destruction, Nasser Ali himself engages in a painful decline.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Historical Biography
Author Info:
Marjane Satrapi is a best-selling author, her Percepolis series--detailing her childhood in post-Shah Iran, won numerous awards and received widespread acclaim and popularity. In 2007, the premier Percepolis was transformed by Satrapi into an animated film, which was later nominated for an Oscar.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Middle school and up. Its format will be enticing to teens, and its content interesting and informative for all ages.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Why does Nasser Ali Khan choose death?
*What effects does this choice have on the rest of his family?
*Why doesn't Nasser Ali see how important his life is to those around him? Further, how can his total narcissism not have pointed the way to any such realization?
Challenge Issues:
Absolutely none foreseeable...and, it's good for you!
Why Include?:
I am an avid reader of Satrapi's stories, and this project provided me with an excuse to enjoy it on semester time.