In 2020 I was excited to have progressed my French to a level where I could start reading books. To start with, I was massively over ambitious (see also deluded) with some purchases. "Le Capital au 21ème Siècle" by Thomas Piketty springs rapidly to mind 🤣.

Looking up 5 words per paragraph led to a rapid drop in motivation, and I went on the search for something more appropriate for an intermediate-level learner. So, following on from my last couple of posts, here is my final recommendation for a great entry-level French book. 📚🇫🇷

L'Arabe du futur - Riad Sattouf

These are, in fact, a series of 5 graphic novels by French cartoonist Riad Sattouf, who was a long-time columnist for the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo".

What are they about?

The books depict the author's childhood as his family follow his Syrian father to various teaching posts in Libya and Syria, and then back to France to stay with his French mother's family.

Why read them?

Great stories

The stories themselves are excellent, and are a great window into the Arab world, which I knew very little about. The portrayal of his quite troubled family, and equally troubled thoughts, seem very raw, honest, and endearing.

Perfect for language learners

Reading graphic novels was a bit of a revelation for me, as I've never read an English one. The language in the books isn't simplified, yet they were a very pleasant read even with my imperfect level of French.

• The images obviously provide a lot of the story, and this gives context for guessing any difficult words. Because of this I didn't find myself looking up too much vocabulary.

• Even when couldn't translate a word, I was more content to allow the ambiguity and just enjoy the story and reading experience.

• Because of this lack of friction, I found this was something I could even do with my just-before-bed brain.

Thanks for reading 📚🤓