Every week, the comic book artist Riad Sattouf has a chat with his friend's 10-year old daughter, Esther. She tells him about her life, her family, her school, her friends, her hopes, her dreams and her fears. And then he creates a one-page comic strip based on what she says. This book is a collection of 156 of those strips, comprising the first three volumes as they appeared in Europe, spanning Esther's life from age 10 to 12.
Don’t be misled by what at first seems like naivety, even cuteness. These funny, well-observed comics are fantastically daring ... Sattouf has drawn a portrait of a generation: their hopes, dreams and cultural references; the way that their personalities, backgrounds – many of the children portrayed have parents who are immigrants – and preconceived ideas about sexuality begin to play out even before they’ve begun secondary school.
Sattouf's cheery illustrations capture Esther's verve and innocence, and they gracefully change as she grows from child to preteen. The stories are wonderful — exuberant, funny, poignant and tender. They ring with the wonder of youth.
The cartoon seems loose and light-hearted at first glance, but the ugly underbelly of growing up in the French political landscape appears beneath the ink ... Readers seeking to experience a strange, yet at its core, familiar slice of life in a country steeped in multiple cultures will enjoy the perspective provided in this collection.
