Riad Sattouf

Né d'un père syrien et d'une mère bretonne, Riad Sattouf grandit d'abord à Tripoli, en Libye, où son père vient d'être nommé professeur. Issu d'un milieu pauvre, féru de politique et obsédé par le panarabisme, Abdel-Razak Sattouf élève son fils Riad dans le culte des grands dictateurs arabes, symboles de modernité et de puissance virile. En 1984, la famille déménage en Syrie et rejoint le berceau des Sattouf, un petit village près de Homs. Malmené par ses cousins (il est blond, cela n'aide pas...), le jeune Riad découvre la rudesse de la vie paysanne traditionnelle. Son père, lui, n'a qu'une idée en tête : que son fils Riad aille à l'école syrienne et devienne un Arabe moderne et éduqué, un Arabe du futur.

Arab of the future

The Arab of the Future, the #1 French best-seller, tells the unforgettable story of Riad Sattouf's childhood, spent in the shadows of 3 dictators—Muammar Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, and his father In striking, virtuoso graphic style that captures both the immediacy of childhood and the fervor of political idealism, Riad Sattouf recounts his nomadic childhood growing up in rural France, Gaddafi's Libya, and Assad's Syria--but always under the roof of his father, a Syrian Pan-Arabist who drags his family along in his pursuit of grandiose dreams for the Arab nation. Riad, delicate and wide-eyed, follows in the trail of his mismatched parents; his mother, a bookish French student, is as modest as his father is flamboyant. Venturing first to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab State and then joining the family tribe in Homs, Syria, they hold fast to the vision of the paradise that always lies just around the corner. And hold they do, though food is scarce, children kill dogs for sport, and with locks banned, the Sattoufs come home one day to discover another family occupying their apartment. The ultimate outsider, Riad, with his flowing blond hair, is called the ultimate insult... Jewish. And in no time at all, his father has come up with yet another grand plan, moving from building a new people to building his own great palace. Brimming with life and dark humor, The Arab of the Future reveals the truth and texture of one eccentric family in an absurd Middle East, and also introduces a master cartoonist in a work destined to stand alongside Maus and Persepolis.

A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984: A Graphic Memoir

The Arab of the Future

Ozge Kara

Read this in one go. First I was worried it was “orientalist” but gave it a chance since the author is “Arab”. Afterwards I realized how it was just sincere observations of a little kid. 
One thing that troubled me was how the author’s mother was just a background figure, had no say in family decisions and was just following the father, who makes stupid decisions back to back. 
Overall I liked the book. Middle Easterners will definitely understand what it is to have an uncle that is younger than you. 
Also I think the father’s unhealthy and very complicated relation to the west and to the Arabs was portrayed very well

The highly anticipated continuation of Riad Sattouf’s internationally acclaimed, #1 French bestseller, which was hailed by The New York Times as “a disquieting yet essential read” In The Arab of the Future: Volume 1, cartoonist Riad Sattouf tells of the first years of his childhood as his family shuttles back and forth between France and the Middle East. In Libya and Syria, young Riad is exposed to the dismal reality of a life where food is scarce, children kill dogs for sport, and his cousins, virulently anti-Semitic and convinced he is Jewish because of his blond hair, lurk around every corner waiting to beat him up. In Volume 2, Riad, now settled in his father’s hometown of Homs, gets to go to school, where he dedicates himself to becoming a true Syrian in the country of the dictator Hafez Al-Assad. Told simply yet with devastating effect, Riad’s story takes in the sweep of politics, religion, and poverty, but is steered by acutely observed small moments: the daily sadism of his schoolteacher, the lure of the black market, with its menu of shame and subsistence, and the obsequiousness of his father in the company of those close to the regime. As his family strains to fit in, one chilling, barbaric act drives the Sattoufs to make the most dramatic of changes. Darkly funny and piercingly direct, The Arab of the Future, Volume 2 once again reveals the inner workings of a tormented country and a tormented family, delivered through Riad Sattouf’s dazzlingly original talent.

A Childhood in the Middle East, 1984-1985: A Graphic Memoir

The Arab of the Future 2

This book was much better than the first one and his drawings are amazing, making me laugh out loud at some instances and be terrified in others. He has a magnificent skill, his simple and clean drawings that portray many emotions. 

In the first book I wondered if he was orientalists or even a bit racist but with the second book actually my opinion changed. I saw some reader comments that says “Syria is not like this”. Well, obviously! He is talking about a village in Syria though. I am Turkish and there are many, many, many villages in Turkey where what he experienced can definitely happen. Also we are talking about 30 years ago. 

I actually am astonished with how much he remembers and I felt sorry for this little kid who was quite traumatised for that age with what he saw. Well, this is what being Middle Eastern is. We all have anxiety.

Laurel 

Amalie

In the third installment of the acclaimed series, the Sattouf family begins to implode under the pressure of Hafez al-Assad's regime and the suffocation of their rural Syrian village. The Arab of the Future is the widely acclaimed, internationally bestselling graphic memoir that tells the story of Riad Sattouf’s peripatetic childhood in the Middle East. In the first volume, which covers the years 1978–1984, his family moves between rural France, Libya, and Syria, where they eventually settle in his father’s native village of Ter Maaleh, near Homs. The second volume recounts young Riad’s first year attending school in Syria (1984–1985), where he dedicates himself to becoming a true Syrian in the country of Hafez al-Assad. In this third volume, (1985–1987), Riad’s mother, fed up with the grinding reality of daily life in the village, decides she cannot take it any longer. When she resolves to move back to France, young Riad sees his father torn between his wife’s aspirations and the weight of family traditions.

A Childhood in the Middle East, 1985-1987

The Arab of the Future 3

A kabel 

Gregor Gross

VOLUME 1 IN THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY CHILDHOOD The Arab of the Future tells the unforgettable story of Riad Sattouf's childhood, spent in the shadows of three dictators - Muammar Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, and his father. A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR | AN OBSERVER GRAPHIC BOOK OF THE YEAR | A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' TOP BOOK OF THE YEAR 'I tore through it... The most enjoyable graphic novel I've read in a while' Zadie Smith 'I joyously recommend this book to you' Mark Haddon 'Riad Sattouf is one of the great creators of our time' Alain De Botton 'Beautifully-written and drawn, witty, sad, fascinating... Brilliant' Simon Sebag Montefiore In a striking, virtuoso graphic style that captures both the immediacy of childhood and the fervour of political idealism, Riad Sattouf recounts his nomadic childhood growing up in rural France, Gaddafi's Libya, and Assad's Syria - but always under the roof of his father, a Syrian Pan-Arabist who drags his family along in his pursuit of grandiose dreams for the Arab nation. Riad, delicate and wide-eyed, follows in the trail of his mismatched parents: his mother, a bookish French student, is as modest as his father is flamboyant. Venturing first to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab State and then joining the family tribe in Homs, Syria, they hold fast to the vision of the paradise that always lies just around the corner. And hold they do, though food is scarce, children kill dogs for sport, and with locks banned, the Sattoufs come home one day to discover another family occupying their apartment. The ultimate outsider, Riad, with his flowing blond hair, is called the ultimate insult... Jewish. And in no time at all, his father has come up with yet another grand plan, moving from building a new people to building his own great palace. Brimming with life and dark humour, The Arab of the Future reveals the truth and texture of one eccentric family in an absurd Middle East, and also introduces a master cartoonist in a work destined to stand alongside Maus and Persepolis. Translated by Sam Taylor. 'ENGROSSING' New York Times 'A PAGE TURNER' Guardian 'MARVELLOUS... BEGS TO BE READ IN ONE LONG SITTING' Herald 'AN OBJECT OF CONSENSUAL RAPTURE' New Yorker 'ONE OF THE GREATEST CARTOONISTS OF HIS GENERATION' Le Monde

Volume 1: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984 - A Graphic Memoir

Dr. Mirza

The penultimate installment in the bestselling French graphic memoir series—hailed as “exquisitely illustrated” and “irresistible”—covering the years of Riad Sattouf’s adolescence, from 1987-1992. In the fourth volume of The Arab of the Future, little Riad has grown into a teenager. In the previous books, his childhood was complicated by the pull of his two cultures—French and Syrian—and his parents’ deteriorating relationship. Now his father, Adbel-Razak, has left to take a job in Saudi Arabia, and after making a pilgrimage to Mecca, turns increasingly towards religion. But after following him from place to place and living for years under the harsh conditions of his impoverished village, Riad’s mother Clementine has had enough. Refusing to live in a country where women have no rights, she returns with her children to live in France with her own mother... until Abdel-Razak shows up unexpectedly to drag the family on yet another journey. As the series builds to a climax, we see Riad struggle with problems both universal (bullies at school) and specific (his mother’s sudden illness, the judgment of his religious relatives). And as Abdel-Razak returns again to the same fantastical dreams he pursued in previous books, we see him become more and more unhinged, until ultimately he crosses the line from idealism to fanaticism, leading to a dramatic breaking point. Full of the same gripping storytelling and lush visual style for which Sattouf’s previous works have won numerous awards, The Arab of the Future 4 continues the saga of the Sattouf family and their peripatetic life in France and the Middle East.

The Arab of the Future 4

Kemie G

Morgane

VOLUME 3 IN THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY CHILDHOOD Praise for The Arab of the Future series 'I TORE THROUGH IT... THE MOST ENJOYABLE GRAPHIC NOVEL I'VE READ IN A WHILE' Zadie Smith 'I JOYOUSLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO YOU' Mark Haddon 'RIAD SATTOUF IS ONE OF THE GREAT CREATORS OF OUR TIME' Alain De Botton 'A MASTERPIECE' Posy Simmonds | 'EXCELLENT' Guardian | 'Superb' Spectator After having followed her husband to Libya and then to Syria, Riad's mother can't take any more of village life in Ter Maaleh: she wants to go back to France. Young Riad sees his father torn between his wife's aspirations and the weight of family traditions... The Arab of the Future tells the story of Riad Sattouf's childhood in the Middle East. The first volume covers the period from 1978 to 1984: from birth to the age of six, little Riad is shuttled between Libya, Brittany and Syria. The second volume tells the story of his first year of school in Syria (1984-1985). This third volume sees him between the ages of six and nine, the time he becomes aware of the society he is growing up in. Can you celebrate Christmas in Ter Maaleh? Were there video clubs in Homs? How do children of eight fast for Ramadan? Was Conan the Barbarian circumcised? Were Breton villagers kinder to their animals than their Syrian counterparts? How far will Riad go to please his father? And how far will his father go to become an important man in the Syria of Hafez Al-Assad? Translated by Sam Taylor. ***THE ARAB OF THE FUTURE - THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION*** 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE | #1 BESTSELLER IN FRANCE | GUARDIAN 'BEST GRAPHIC BOOKS OF 2015' PICK | NY TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE |

Arab of the future

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