CHICKEN WITH PLUMS
PANTHEON BOOKS
CARTOONIST: Marjane Satrapi
ISBN: 978-0-375-71475-7; paperback (April 14, 2009)
96pp, B&W, $12.95 US, $14.95 CAN
Marjane Satrapi was an Iranian and French comics creator, graphic novelist, film director, and children's book author. She died recently (June 2026) at the age of 56. Her best-known work was Persepolis, a series of graphic novels about her childhood. Satrapi also produced Poulet aux prunes (Chicken with Plums), a graphic novel which was published in 2004 by the French publisher, L'Association.
Satrapi would later co-direct (with Vincent Paronnaud) the live-action feature film adaptation of the graphic novel, also entitled Chicken with Plums. Satrapi and Paronnaud also directed an animated feature film version of Persepolis (2007), which was nominated for a “Best Animated Feature” Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards.
In 2006, Pantheon Books published an English-language edition of Chicken with Plums as a hardcover graphic novel. In 2009, Pantheon sent me a review copy of its paperback edition of Chicken with Plums. I am re-posting the review of the 2009 book that I originally wrote for another website:
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Pantheon Books recently released a paperback edition of Chicken with Plums, the Marjane Satrapi comic book it published as a hardcover in 2006. French publisher, L’Association. originally published this comic book as Poulet Aux Prunes (2004).
Set in Tehran, Iran, Chicken with Plums is the story of Marjane’s great-uncle (her mother’s uncle), Nasser Ali Khan, a celebrated Iranian musician devoted to music over all else. In 1958, his wife Nahid breaks his tar (a guitar-like musical instrument). Nasser attempts to replace his cherished tar, but is unable to find another instrument that satisfies him. Heartbroken, Nasser takes to his bed and decides to die; eight days later, he is laid to rest. What happens in between is a story of pleasure and disappointment.
THE LOWDOWN: A press release speaks of Marjane Satrapi’s “trademark humor, insight, and generosity…” It’s been years since I’ve read Satrapi’s Persepolis, but I do remember how she put a humorous spin on Iran’s dark times in the book. Her generosity towards all her characters offered insight into their actions, but the truth is that Satrapi is simply a good storyteller. In fact, reading Chicken with Plums tells me that she is a natural born storyteller even more than reading Persepolis did.
People who are good at telling oral tales of family or local history bring the past alive to their listeners. When my mother talks of the past, my imagination creates its own little movies out of my mother’s storytelling. The people of whom she speaks aren’t just characters. They are like me in some ways, and I’m also engaged by how unique from me they are.
As a cartoonist, Satrapi takes words and pictures and creates a magic similar to the oral storyteller with her comic books. Chicken with Plums is family history sprinkled with folklore, politics, national history, and religion. The tale of Nasser Ali Khan isn’t merely a historical vignette about a man who goes to bed to die. By adding these other elements, Satrapi puts the story in a context that makes it timeless and universal, yet also fresh and new.
This tale of regret, dissatisfaction, and family dysfunction hits home with the reader. A good storyteller knows how to make her audience not only identify with the characters, but place himself in the story. Nasser Ali Khan and his family are like any other family and also like no other. Satrapi’s ability to both engage us with the familiar and enthrall us with something different is the mark of an exceptional, special comic book storyteller.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Marjane Satrapi's work will want to read Chicken with Plums.
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars
RE-EDITED with additions to the 2009 original review: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
"CHICKEN WITH PLUMS" is available in hardcover and paperback editions at Amazon.
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