"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. …
"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."-- Provided by publisher.
Ugh. Enorm rassistisch und strukturell sexistisch. Hatte mich erst sehr gewundert, dann aber gesehen, dass der Autor ja bei dem rechten "Satire" (aka Propaganda) Magazin Charlie Hebdo arbeitet. Das erklärt dann wohl die Darstellung aller nicht weißen, das fehlen jeden Fünkchens positiver Sichten auf die Menschen und den Alltag in allen nicht-westlichen Ländern in denen der Hauptcharakter lebte und die Abwesenheit irgendwelcher Agency der Mutter des Hauptcharas. Enttäuschend.
how Sattouf took his childhood memories and translated them into a fun in places, well paced read is clever. For example comparing his dads memories of his childhood with the plastic bags flying everywhere and the shit all over the streets in the village. A lot of it comes across as Poking fun at everything - which probably explains why he worked for Charlie Hebdo for a while, but this style of satire gets a little tiring over time.
I very much want to know what happens next, which I suppose means Sattouf has done his job very well in this first volume of his memoirs. Since this is translated, I hope the second volume isn't delayed very long!
The story of the author’s early childhood in France, Libya, and Syria. Sattouf's graphic novel evokes a sense of growing dread as we're introduced to people outside the immediate household, including the menacing neighborhood children, and Raid’s ever-more-disturbing relatives. The well told story provides a disquieting look at daily life during the regimes of several 1980s dictators. I’m eager to read the next volume.
