| The Arab of the Future | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Date | 2015 |
| Page count | 160 pages |
| Publisher | Metropolitan Books |
| Creative team | |
| Writer | Riad Sattouf |
| Artist | Riad Sattouf |
| Original publication | |
| Language | French |
The Arab of the Future[a] (French: L'Arabe du futur) is a graphic memoir by French cartoonist Riad Sattouf.[1] The work recounts Sattouf's childhood growing up in France, Libya and Syria in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s.[2] The first volume of L'Arabe du futur won the 2015 Fauve d’Or prize for best graphic novel at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.[3][4]
Eventually another version was released which cut out some details but combined all 6 books into 1.
Sattouf's father influenced the title of the memoir through his ideal of raising his son as an "Arab of the future." Early in the story, the elder Sattouf proclaims, "I'd change everything among the Arabs. I'd force them to stop being bigots, to educate themselves, and to enter into the modern world. I'd be a good President."
Purposefully written from the perspective of a child, Sattouf employs simplistic yet comprehensive drawings that are more rudimentary than, yet not entirely dissimilar to, his other works such as La vie secrète des jeunes, his column in the famous satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo.[5] Both The Arab of the Future and La Vie Secrète des Jeunes are written from Sattouf's point of view, with the former describing his childhood and the latter his daily observations as an adult. Although both appear autobiographical, at least one reviewer calls into question elements of Sattouf's life story and family history.[2] In 2020, Sattouf announced the memoir's fifth volume was finished with only one extra volume pending before finalizing the saga.[6]
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- ^ Snaije, Olivia (28 October 2015). "Riad Sattouf draws on multicultural past for The Arab of the Future". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ a b Shatz, Adam (15 October 2015). "Drawing Blood". The New Yorker. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ "Comic books of childhood under Arab dictators grip France". France 24. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ Lindsey, Ursula (27 January 2016). "The Future of the Arab". The Nation. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ "La vie secrète des jeunes". Goodreads. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ^ @riadsattouf (19 August 2020). "Petit message pour toutes les lectrices et tous les lecteurs qui me posent si souvent la question Red heart #larabedufutur #larabedufutur5 #livre #love" (Tweet) – via Twitter.