Chicken With Plums by Marjane Satrapi: Dense and Pervading...
To the common man, whether you are a clown or a musician, it's one and the same!
Renowned musician Nasser Ali Khan decides to renounce the world and quietly accept death. He shuts the door of his room and lies down on his bed, awaiting Azrael, the angel of death. His wife, kids, friends, and family try hard, but he is not ready to return. Why should a normal person suddenly make such a harsh decision, leaving behind a bereaved family of his wife and four kids, out of which he loves at least one very dearly? Someone broke his beloved tar, the music instrument that he plays, which his teacher gifted him. He tries to find a replacement, but no other tar that he tried gave him the satisfaction that it gave. But is that all behind such a firm and drastic step?
Chicken With Plums is a graphical novel by Marjane Satrapi, whose Persepolis is an autobiographical journey of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. While Persepolis is an urgent political statement that finds humour in its most sobering moments, this one is more an introspective and reflective take on creativity and the inspiration behind it. It is also a beautiful and understated romantic tale of the unrequited love of a man who feels that his inspiration has dried out and there's nothing left for him.
The narrative technique used in Chicken with Plums is very interesting. After the musician's failed quest for a tar that satisfied him, we get a day-by-day recounting of his last eight days. In the initial stretch, we get a perplexing portrayal of a seemingly selfish and unloving person, of an adamant father and a rude husband. But when each day ends, we find out more and more about him and the buried factors that actually affected his decision. In these segments, we journey into his past and also into his kids' futures. We become aware of his unique disposition and get to appreciate him in a new light. The narrative keeps Nasser's present in the centre and goes backwards and forward in time. Satrapi also makes an appearance in it, as Nasser is her great-uncle.
Satrapi uses a narrative structure and a complementary artistic style that look simple at first glance. But I found it profound and philosophical. There is a sprinkling of politics to be found. But the emphasis is on the journey of a man towards the deep recesses inside him. While the stubbornness that the man displays is immense and we feel uneasy towards it, the unveiling of his deeper thoughts makes us more sympathetic. We encounter a few surreal elements along the way and may detect a hint of poetry in the proceedings. The humour, when subtler compared to Persepolis and even cruel at times, renders a distinct lamination to the novel.
The artwork is in black and white and very similar to that of Persepolis. In Persepolis, it was striking because it kind of reflected the oppressive times in which the story played out. In Chicken With Plums, it makes sense because the writer contrasts the two extremes, life and death, and takes us on a journey to the meeting point of both. The black-and-white art creates a sense of duality that makes anything else impossible. I have heard someone say that her art is too simplistic, but I feel there are more things in it that are invisible than that are laid bare for us to see. This is what I feel makes the art more dense and pervasive.