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The End of the Arab of the Future: A Youth in the Middle East Vol. 1
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2026
About the author
Riad Sattouf
58 books965 followersRiad Sattouf est l’auteur de nombreuses bandes dessinées, parmi lesquelles Retour au collège, Pascal Brutal (Fauve d’or 2010) ou La vie secrète des jeunes. Les beaux gosses, César du meilleur premier film ; Jacky au royaume des filles)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 27, 2026
By way of a review: read this in a single sitting/ day and promptly googled when the second part is out.
May 28, 2026
It’s 1992 and an adolescent Riad Sattouf is living in West France with his French mother and two younger brothers. His parents’ marriage is over, though they haven’t divorced yet, and his Syrian father has done something despicable: kidnapped his baby brother Fadi and gone back to Syria with him!
Riad Sattouf’s wonderful memoir series The Arab of the Future went through some uncertain times after the fourth book when his English language publisher decided not to publish the final two volumes in the series. So it’s great that Fantagraphics picked it up and, six years after the book appeared in French, the fifth book is now available in English for the first time - retitled here as The End of the Arab of the Future, Volume 1, as opposed to The Arab of the Future, Volume 5 - not least to give fans the closure of the series, but also because it’s a brilliant comic.
While his poor mother goes through hell figuring out how to get her youngest child back from Syria, going through various channels desperately - from seeing lawyers, to petitioning Danielle Mitterrand (the French president’s wife), to seeking reassurance from psychics! - Riad goes through the usual touchstones of growing up.
We see him make friends, get bullied, fall in love, having his heart broken, discovering books (HP Lovecraft)/classic comics (Moebius, Druillet, Bilal)/music (Nirvana’s Nevermind had just come out), finding his niche (art), trying to forge an identity (making his devastated mother laugh), all while wondering about the fate of his missing baby brother.
It’s an authentic and compelling portrayal of adolescence and growing up that transcends its time - I’m sure the experiences will resonate with many who grew up at any time period. And while it is often entrancing, I still found the story to be a bit thin overall - the high school beats are predictable, even though it’s offset with the more interesting scenes about his mother’s battles to get her son back - as well as repetitive and static after a while.
The book is also noticeably missing the series’ best character: Riad’s mad father. He’s such a great, memorable character, even if he is a complete bastard, written with such skill and nuance, and who played such a big role in the earlier books, that this book feels kinda empty without him, though his presence looms throughout all of it. But he does finally show up at the end - that final act is incredibly dramatic, leaving the reader on quite the cliffhanger that made me wish I had the next book to hand so I could see how it all played out.
Minor criticisms aside, the book is very enjoyable and I’m glad to see the series continuing after a brief pause - I wasn’t about to learn French to finish things out! Fans of the series will find plenty to love here - Sattouf’s masterful storytelling, keen eye for human behaviour and humour effortlessly carry you along the narrative. If you’re unfamiliar with this cartoonist’s work, the series is well worth checking out - it’s a fascinating memoir of growing up in a unique society like Syria had in the 1980s - though obviously don’t start here!
Riad Sattouf’s wonderful memoir series The Arab of the Future went through some uncertain times after the fourth book when his English language publisher decided not to publish the final two volumes in the series. So it’s great that Fantagraphics picked it up and, six years after the book appeared in French, the fifth book is now available in English for the first time - retitled here as The End of the Arab of the Future, Volume 1, as opposed to The Arab of the Future, Volume 5 - not least to give fans the closure of the series, but also because it’s a brilliant comic.
While his poor mother goes through hell figuring out how to get her youngest child back from Syria, going through various channels desperately - from seeing lawyers, to petitioning Danielle Mitterrand (the French president’s wife), to seeking reassurance from psychics! - Riad goes through the usual touchstones of growing up.
We see him make friends, get bullied, fall in love, having his heart broken, discovering books (HP Lovecraft)/classic comics (Moebius, Druillet, Bilal)/music (Nirvana’s Nevermind had just come out), finding his niche (art), trying to forge an identity (making his devastated mother laugh), all while wondering about the fate of his missing baby brother.
It’s an authentic and compelling portrayal of adolescence and growing up that transcends its time - I’m sure the experiences will resonate with many who grew up at any time period. And while it is often entrancing, I still found the story to be a bit thin overall - the high school beats are predictable, even though it’s offset with the more interesting scenes about his mother’s battles to get her son back - as well as repetitive and static after a while.
The book is also noticeably missing the series’ best character: Riad’s mad father. He’s such a great, memorable character, even if he is a complete bastard, written with such skill and nuance, and who played such a big role in the earlier books, that this book feels kinda empty without him, though his presence looms throughout all of it. But he does finally show up at the end - that final act is incredibly dramatic, leaving the reader on quite the cliffhanger that made me wish I had the next book to hand so I could see how it all played out.
Minor criticisms aside, the book is very enjoyable and I’m glad to see the series continuing after a brief pause - I wasn’t about to learn French to finish things out! Fans of the series will find plenty to love here - Sattouf’s masterful storytelling, keen eye for human behaviour and humour effortlessly carry you along the narrative. If you’re unfamiliar with this cartoonist’s work, the series is well worth checking out - it’s a fascinating memoir of growing up in a unique society like Syria had in the 1980s - though obviously don’t start here!
May 24, 2026
I'm so glad fantagraphics picked this series up and published this 'final' (but not really) volume of this series in english, after its fate on the american market was left in limbo for quite some time.
This series was a random find at my public library but ended up being one of my favorite graphic novel series I've ever read. It's so good!
Now I eagerly await fantagraphics' publication of the next book in this saga, Moi Fadi, which the author states on his social media is already in the works.
So glad this has found an american publisher! Highly recommend this series to fans of graphic novels. They are a fascinating exploration of cultural differences, political tensions in the middle east ca. 1970-90, emotional violence, alienation, mental illness, and perhaps most palpably in this book, misogyny and the sheer uselessness of police/patriarchal function and purpose of the police as an institution.
This series was a random find at my public library but ended up being one of my favorite graphic novel series I've ever read. It's so good!
Now I eagerly await fantagraphics' publication of the next book in this saga, Moi Fadi, which the author states on his social media is already in the works.
So glad this has found an american publisher! Highly recommend this series to fans of graphic novels. They are a fascinating exploration of cultural differences, political tensions in the middle east ca. 1970-90, emotional violence, alienation, mental illness, and perhaps most palpably in this book, misogyny and the sheer uselessness of police/patriarchal function and purpose of the police as an institution.
June 4, 2026
The Sattouf saga continues in English--finally!
Riad enters his awkward teen/tween, middle school/high school years. We are privy to everything that those years entail: Questioning his beliefs, his ancestry, his culture, his ethnicity, his future. All of this takes place against the backdrop of his parents' crumbling marriage due mostly to his Syrian fathers' ultra-adherent conservative religious beliefs.
There is a LOT going on here; I hope we don't need to wait long for the second (& possibly final?) English language volume in this incredible series.
Best of 2026.
Riad enters his awkward teen/tween, middle school/high school years. We are privy to everything that those years entail: Questioning his beliefs, his ancestry, his culture, his ethnicity, his future. All of this takes place against the backdrop of his parents' crumbling marriage due mostly to his Syrian fathers' ultra-adherent conservative religious beliefs.
There is a LOT going on here; I hope we don't need to wait long for the second (& possibly final?) English language volume in this incredible series.
Best of 2026.
May 20, 2026
The saga continues, and it will end now, but not yet! Sattouf’s teen years and his mother’s turn toward Arab bashing infuses this crazy cliffhanger follow-up with tension, coming-of-age foibles, and Sattouf’s goofy, understated cartooning. Can’t wait for the finale.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews