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A review by deannapassmore
The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984: A Graphic Memoir by Riad Sattouf
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.