Riad Sattouf's fourth volume of his graphic memoir series covers 1987 to 1992, when he is nine to fourteen years old. The family remains in Syria under Hafez al-Assad, where his father Abdel-Razak, a rigid believer in pan-Arab ideals, is increasingly drawn into religious conservatism. The young Riad lives between two worlds, the Syrian village and school on one side, and the Breton home of his French mother Clémentine on the other. Adolescence arrives with embarrassment, bullying, school humiliations and a sharper view of a country where fear shapes daily life.
Readers of the series will want this chapter, but it also suits anyone interested in a child's-eye view of dictatorship and cultural collision. The humour is dry and the drawing is simple and direct. It rewards readers who like autobiography that is funny about family and honest about politics.
Clear-cut; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2018
- Publisher
- Allary Éditions
- ISBN
- 9782370731258
- Language
- FR
