Chicken With Plums

Chicken With Plums made me ponder my existence, and what complex passions and simple pleasures give my life meaning. Marjane Satrapi is a genius. In this book, she chronicles the highlights of Iranian musician Nasser Ali's life, paying special attention to the eight days before he died. I am taken by how Satrapi's simple drawings can conjure up so much emotion, from hilarity to heartbreak. After Ali's wife breaks his tar (a musical instrument) during a feud, he resolves to die. Toward the end of the book, we learn what memories that instrument represented and how his wife breaking it was to him akin to murder. It was Nasser Ali's lifeline, his only joy.