Chicken with plums

Iranian born writer-artist Satrapi has been steadily building a reputation with children's books and simple but distinctive New Yorker cartoons. Her acclaimed autobiographical graphic novels, Persepolis (2003) and Persepolis 2 (2004), on her childhood exile from and eventual return to Iran, have been translated into 12 languages. The poignant last days of her granduncle, Nassar Ali Khan, a famous musician in 1950s Iran, provides the foundation of her latest illustrated tale. After his wife spitefully fractures his favorite tar (an instrument akin to the Indian sitar), Nassar goes on a wayward mission to find a suitable replacement. When the search fails, he renounces the world, vowing to end his life in bed. Scenes from his final week alternate with episodes from his courtship and musical training, along with glimpses into the destinies of his offspring after his death. Fans of fine artwork may regard Satrapi's boxy black-and-white drawings as primitive and unschooled, but her characters' faces and sad fates will haunt readers long after the last pages are turned. --Carl Hays Copyright 2006 Booklist

The question of what makes a life worth living has rarely been posed with as much poignancy and ambition as it is in Satrapi's dazzling new effort. Satrapi's talent for distilling complex personal histories into richly evocative vignettes made Persepolis a bestseller. Here she presents us with the story of her great-uncle Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran's most revered musicians, who takes to bed after realizing that he'll never be able to find an instrument to replace his beloved, broken tar. Eight days later, he's dead. These final eight days, which we're taken through one by one, make up the bulk of this slim volume. While waiting for death, Nasser Ali is visited by family, memories and hallucinations. Because everything is being filtered through Satrapi's formidable imagination, we are also treated to classical Persian poetry, bits of history, folk stories, as well as an occasional flash forward into lives Nasser Ali will never have a chance to see. Each episode is illustrated with Satrapi's characteristic, almost childlike drawings, which take on the stark expressiveness of block prints. Clear and emotive, they bring surprising force and humor to this stunning tribute to a life whose worth can be measured in the questions it leaves. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

After irreparable damage is done to his beloved tar (a classic instrument), Nasser Ali Khan retreats from lifeAwith consequences that reverberate throughout his family. With a 13-city tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.