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The Arab of the Future 4: A Graphic Memoir of a Childhood in the Middle East, 1987-1992 (2018)

by Riad Sattouf

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1589171,636 (4.23)2
"In the fourth volume of The Arab of the Future, little Riad has grown into a teenager. In the previous books, his childhood was complicated by the pull of his two cultures -- French and Syrian -- and his parents' deteriorating relationship. Now his father, Adbel-Razak, has left to take a job in Saudi Arabia, and after making a pilgrimage to Mecca, turns increasingly towards religion. But after following him from place to place and living for years under the harsh conditions of his impoverished village, Riad's mother Clementine has had enough. Refusing to live in a country where women have no rights, she returns with her children to live in France with her own mother... until Abdel-Razak shows up unexpectedly to drag the family on yet another journey. As the series builds to a climax, we see Riad struggle with problems both universal (bullies at school) and specific (his mother's sudden illness, the judgment of his religious relatives). And as Abdel-Razak returns again to the same fantastical dreams he pursued in previous books, we see him become more and more unhinged, until ultimately he crosses the line from idealism to fanaticism, leading to a dramatic breaking point. Full of the same gripping storytelling and lush visual style for which Sattouf's previous works have won numerous awards, The Arab of the Future 4 continues the saga of the Sattouf family and their peripatetic life in France and the Middle East." --… (more)
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English (5)  French (1)  German (1)  Spanish (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (9)
Showing 5 of 5
Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
  fernandie | Sep 15, 2022 |
This ends in a cliffhanger! Which gives me the dilemma of whether I should research the author to see what happens next. This one captures another few years of the author’s life in Syria and France. The father is worse in this one than the others. There are worse fathers out there but he is still terrible. ( )
  twinkley | Jul 6, 2020 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Raif Sattouf's autobiographies are one of my favorite graphic novel series. In this installment of the series, Riad is now a teenager and the tension between his Syrian father and his French mother reaches a boiling point. His father accepts a teaching job in Saudi Arabia but his mother refuses to follow him and keeps the kids with her in France. They do have family time during the summer when they gather in Syria, Riad's father's native country. Riad gets hounded by his father about losing his Arabic language skills and his refusal to begin an Islamic prayer life. Riad is more French like his mother at this stage in his life. The book closes with a cliffhanger situation between his parents.

As with the earlier books in the series, the color scheme of the artwork changes depending on where the family is located. When they are in France the drawings are done in blue. When they are in Syria the drawings are done in pink. The book includes for the first time some red colored scenes when there is trouble brewing for Riad. This could be either dealing with bullying at school or while playing.

This installment of the series was a lot longer than the earlier books. I was delighted to spend an entire evening engrossed in this fabulous story. The only sad part is that I have to wait another year for the next installment to be published. ( )
  Violette62 | Jan 25, 2020 |
This installment is a bit too slow and depressing, though still a fascinating glimpse into the life of a family with roots in both Syria and France.

The father, a Syrian Muslim, remains a complete narcissistic jackass, with his antisemitism and racism really on display this go round. He becomes more self-involved and conservative as he has a religious epiphany. The liberal French mother, meanwhile is mostly stuck in anger mode as she separates herself geographically from her husband, undergoes an illness, and finally begins to really question the point of her marriage. The author meanwhile starts to enter puberty.

As with previous volumes there is much moving back and forth between France and Syria, with much homophobic and antisemitic bullying happening in both places due to the author's appearance and voice. The whole thing really ground me down, but the cliffhanger ending will certainly bring me back for the next volume. ( )
  villemezbrown | Jan 10, 2020 |
The fourth volume of the bd in which Riad Sattouf pictures himself, now being nine at the start of the story, growing up torn between French and Arab (Syrian) cultures. The father accepts an offer to teach at the University of Riyadh. The mother categorically refuses to move to Saudi Arabia and stays with the 3 children in Brittany where her mother lives. In school Riad is the odd one out, not accepted. The family returns for a prolonged holiday to the ancient Syrian village of the father’s family. Riad has forgotten his Arabic, is set upon by the other children who call him a ‘Jew’ so cannot settle there either. The father turns more and more towards religion, the mother resents this. The parents quarrel almost continuously …

Anybody planning to raise children between two so very different cultures should read this. (I-20) ( )
  MeisterPfriem | Jan 10, 2020 |
Showing 5 of 5
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My name is Riad. In 1988, I was about to turn ten and I was pretty cute.
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"In the fourth volume of The Arab of the Future, little Riad has grown into a teenager. In the previous books, his childhood was complicated by the pull of his two cultures -- French and Syrian -- and his parents' deteriorating relationship. Now his father, Adbel-Razak, has left to take a job in Saudi Arabia, and after making a pilgrimage to Mecca, turns increasingly towards religion. But after following him from place to place and living for years under the harsh conditions of his impoverished village, Riad's mother Clementine has had enough. Refusing to live in a country where women have no rights, she returns with her children to live in France with her own mother... until Abdel-Razak shows up unexpectedly to drag the family on yet another journey. As the series builds to a climax, we see Riad struggle with problems both universal (bullies at school) and specific (his mother's sudden illness, the judgment of his religious relatives). And as Abdel-Razak returns again to the same fantastical dreams he pursued in previous books, we see him become more and more unhinged, until ultimately he crosses the line from idealism to fanaticism, leading to a dramatic breaking point. Full of the same gripping storytelling and lush visual style for which Sattouf's previous works have won numerous awards, The Arab of the Future 4 continues the saga of the Sattouf family and their peripatetic life in France and the Middle East." --

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