Arab the future. Childhood in the Middle East (1978-1984)

"Arab the future" is a series of autobiographical comics of the French author and director Riad Sattuf. He talks about his childhood, which took place in Libya, Syria and France in the shadow of three dictators - Muammar Gaddafi, Hafu al -Asada and his own father.
His father, a convinced Panaratebist, is obsessed with the idea of ​​the Brotherhood and Greatness of the Arab world, but at the same time he cherishes the dream of building a villa, to which he can drive up on a new "Mercedes". With the future mother of Riad, a French student, they get acquainted in Paris, but in the end there is no other choice but to follow the ideals of her husband. The story, told by the lips of the child, not only reflects the nature of family relationships, but also impartially exposes the realities of the Middle East of the 80s, sometimes reaching the point of absurdity.
The graphic novel "Arab the Future" was translated into 22 languages, awarded the Los Angeles Times Books Prize and the main prize of the International Comics Festival in the Angulari.

Riad Sattuf is one of the greatest authors of the comics of his generation.
le monde

In this way, the child perceives the world around him ... Through the perception of the child, Sattuf represents the socio-political situation in Syria and Libya, not giving it an assessment. He offers a new view of the origins of the problem that we all have known to all since the Arab spring.
de Correspondent

Not a single graphic romance since the release of Persepolis had such a cultural significance and did not receive such recognition