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lattelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Because French is my second language, I thought that I’d finish this in a couple days. However, I’m happy to say that I read it all in one day, and I only had to use the dictionary twice! What this means, for a graphic novel, is that Sattouf’s pictures go wonderfully with his words, and that they likely add meaning for the native French speaker, and provide meaning for French language learners. And, speaking about pictures, I have to say that this Charlie Hebdo artist certainly knows what he’s doing! While his art style may be simplistic (minimalistic–not dull!), he utilizes symbols, repeated actions, and motifs to get his point across.
In terms of the story–wow! I’m definitely queuing up some Wikipedia posts about Syrian and Libyan history so I can better understand the setting in the second and third books. His story telling was absolutely phenomenal, and I’m thankful to my multicultural literature teacher in college, as well as the professor who taught a class in analyzing graphic novels and comics.
Sattouf uses sentimental contrast to show how each character feels about their situation. Most obviously, I feel, is Riad’s contrast, where he is a beautiful, blond child who goes to a country where folks have much darker skin and hair than he does. Now, being used to his Syrian father and who is now experiencing friendship with Syrian children, Riad is comfortable around those who don’t look like him. But, some playground bullies have a harder time with Riad: he’s the only one they’ve seen that looks so utterly different from them. Riad struggles with this for a lot of the book, especially since the playground bulliest are his cousins.
His father goes through similar sentimental contrasts–however his is much more complicated, comparing the setting from the present to the past. In short, nostalgia is a liar, and things aren’t as good as he thought. In all honesty, I could write an entire essay about Riad’s father and his experiences, but I won’t! Yet.
Ultimately, this book is a beautiful depiction of what it means to be uprooted, but to have your family fall so into place at the same time. This is an incredible metaphor for la mestiza, a term coined by Gloria Anzaldua, where one exists between two spaces, constantly being influenced by the other. Riad cannot be fully Syrian in public life, thanks to his French upbringing, but he cannot be fully French at home, thanks to the influence he has in his Syrian public life. It’s a complicated story full of complicated feelings, and Sattouf pulls it off flawlessly.
In terms of the story–wow! I’m definitely queuing up some Wikipedia posts about Syrian and Libyan history so I can better understand the setting in the second and third books. His story telling was absolutely phenomenal, and I’m thankful to my multicultural literature teacher in college, as well as the professor who taught a class in analyzing graphic novels and comics.
Sattouf uses sentimental contrast to show how each character feels about their situation. Most obviously, I feel, is Riad’s contrast, where he is a beautiful, blond child who goes to a country where folks have much darker skin and hair than he does. Now, being used to his Syrian father and who is now experiencing friendship with Syrian children, Riad is comfortable around those who don’t look like him. But, some playground bullies have a harder time with Riad: he’s the only one they’ve seen that looks so utterly different from them. Riad struggles with this for a lot of the book, especially since the playground bulliest are his cousins.
His father goes through similar sentimental contrasts–however his is much more complicated, comparing the setting from the present to the past. In short, nostalgia is a liar, and things aren’t as good as he thought. In all honesty, I could write an entire essay about Riad’s father and his experiences, but I won’t! Yet.
Ultimately, this book is a beautiful depiction of what it means to be uprooted, but to have your family fall so into place at the same time. This is an incredible metaphor for la mestiza, a term coined by Gloria Anzaldua, where one exists between two spaces, constantly being influenced by the other. Riad cannot be fully Syrian in public life, thanks to his French upbringing, but he cannot be fully French at home, thanks to the influence he has in his Syrian public life. It’s a complicated story full of complicated feelings, and Sattouf pulls it off flawlessly.
kristinvdt's review against another edition
3.0
Sterke bilder, men også humor og interessante fakta om tiden/stedene (Syria og Libya).
daladala's review
1.0
Hauska, mutta ehkä vähän yksipuolinen. Teksti joissain kuvissa vaikeasti luettavaa ja piirrosjälki ei säväyttänyt.
cellassis's review against another edition
3.0
Un album sympathique, qui n'a pas été un immense coup de coeur mais se laisse lire. C'est très autobiographique, très descriptif... Peut être un peu trop. J'attends de voir la suite.
deannapassmore's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the simple yet expressive illustrations and I was able to read this quickly in the span of an evening.
This autobiography, largely about Riad's parents (or more accurately, only his father), is a fairly interesting character study. It was more than a little distracting to have almost no backstory of the author's mother, or really anything at all about how she was feeling or responding to the whims of his father who seemed to be dragging her around the Middle East with no thoughts of her own. I read it with the assumption that her decisions were made for her by Riad's egomaniacal father but on reflection I'm left wondering why little to no care was taken by Sattouf to even try to convey his mother's feelings while his father was featured prominently on every page.
The insight into the Syrian traditions and lifestyles was interesting and at the same time horrifying, but lead me to wonder if this is really what it's like to be Syrian or if this is just the author's warped memories in hindsight? Surely not every man in Syria is a woman hating animal abuser... At least I would hope not.
I found it historically informative but would have liked maybe a bit more fleshing out of the politics in Libya and Syria as I personally have a hard time reading history texts but love to learn through the medium of graphic novels. I know that's more of a personal preference and it didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the novel.
This autobiography, largely about Riad's parents (or more accurately, only his father), is a fairly interesting character study. It was more than a little distracting to have almost no backstory of the author's mother, or really anything at all about how she was feeling or responding to the whims of his father who seemed to be dragging her around the Middle East with no thoughts of her own. I read it with the assumption that her decisions were made for her by Riad's egomaniacal father but on reflection I'm left wondering why little to no care was taken by Sattouf to even try to convey his mother's feelings while his father was featured prominently on every page.
The insight into the Syrian traditions and lifestyles was interesting and at the same time horrifying, but lead me to wonder if this is really what it's like to be Syrian or if this is just the author's warped memories in hindsight? Surely not every man in Syria is a woman hating animal abuser... At least I would hope not.
I found it historically informative but would have liked maybe a bit more fleshing out of the politics in Libya and Syria as I personally have a hard time reading history texts but love to learn through the medium of graphic novels. I know that's more of a personal preference and it didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the novel.
sujuv's review against another edition
4.0
A funny and at times harrowing graphic novel about the author's early years growing up in Libya, France, and Syria under three dictators - Gaddafi, Assad and his father! Looking forward to volume 2 which is coming out in English soon.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
A really interesting memoir of a young boy with a French mother and Syrian father. He is moved from country to country as his father takes new jobs. You get a real sense of the helplessness and incomprehension from a child’s perspective.
thatlizhunter's review against another edition
4.0
this is so well written, and I am excited to pick up the rest of the volumes! the art style is very unique and the storytelling is simple yet encompasses a lot of politics and religion and child-like observations.