A powerful narrative about a boy who could have had a normal life, but whose country decided something different. The story Haytham Al-Aswad impressed me, and I know it will do the same for you. Had it been something longer it would have been perfect.

Full review to be published on August 2: https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2019/08/comic-haytham-childhood-in-syria.html

'Haytham: A Childhood in Syria' by Nicolas Henin with art by Park Kyungeun is a biographical graphic novel about a young boy growing up in Syria in the 2000s.

Haytham al-Aswad is a child in Syria. His father is a teacher. His father protests against the government and loses his job. The father comes under more and more scrutiny and leaves the country for Paris. Haytham wants to be like his father, but when things get a little too real, his mother gets the rest of the family out of Syria. Haytham has to adjust to life in his new country of France.

I like true life stories told in graphic novel form, and this is a good story. There are real pictures of Haytham at the beginning and end of the book. The art is all in black and white, and that's fine, but the art style made some figures look more two-dimensional than usual, so the drawings had a flat distorted look. I did enjoy the graphic novel and recommend it to others looking to learn more about life in Syria.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Meh. Neither an educational book about the background to the Syrian problems that have plagued our news channels for years now, nor a sob-story about a refugee from such troubles, this is very forgettable. Our lead character drifts into a position where he's just loving French fast food, French educational systems, French liberties and French Internet, while at the same time making no attempt to properly integrate; the end. If you seek threat or drama, turn elsewhere.

This is a wonderful graphic novel about Haytham al-Aswad who is a young Syrian refugee living in France. It tells the story of life in Syria, his father's activism, the beginning of the civil war and the escape of the family to France. It is actually based on the true story of the young man.

I am one of the many people who don't fully understand the cause of the war in Syria, but this simple story is so helpful in the way it portrays life in Syria and the repression of the people and the struggle against the repressive regime. It is frightening to see life in a place where human rights are ignored and yet the story of Haytham is one about a young man who loves his family, chess and sports just like any other young person. Life in Syria becomes dangerous and unbearable and when his father manages to flee to France, one year later Haytham and his mother are able to join his father in France and safety.

This story has a wonderful way of putting a human face to the refugee crisis. Something that reckless politicians ignore as they inflame anti-refugee hatred. Stories like this one should become compulsory in all schools so that people can see what life is like under a repressive regime and why people flee.

The artwork is good, although it is black and white and I prefer colour. Having said that I think the artwork conveys the story well. The story is a positive one in a way, because Haytham al-Aswad and his family manage to settle in France. So many refugees suffer years after fleeing their countries. This story reminds us to be thankful for peace and to show hospitality and compassion to others.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Very moving true story about a refugee from Syria. Eye opening for anyone not aware of the ongoing refugee crisis and what some people (and especially children) have to endure.
I hope my home country of Germany continues accepting refugees, even though we’ve reached capacity after taking in more than 1 million, and hopefully this inspires other countries to giving asylum to people indeed.

Thank you for sharing your story.

This format lended itself really well to the story. I hope it becomes released as a printed book.

"Haytham" is a beautiful and important graphic novel for these days. The art is solid and the story is compelling. I'll be recommending it.

This was really eye opening. I didn't know much about how the war in Syria started or what the country was like before, so to read a first hand account of it, with visual representation of the people and places involved, made it all connect in my mind.

We are constantly focusing on the supposed refugee crisis from Syria when we should instead be remembering that these refugees are human beings. They are fleeing an incredibly horrific war, that has decimated much of their country and they want to be safe. I think this is a great way to educate people on this and remind everyone that no matter where we are from, we are all the same and deserve the same liberties.

Highly reccomend.

Haytham: a childhood in Syria centres around a boy named Haytham from the age of four until he attends university. During the time frame, we are exposed to the harsh reality of the Syrian war the world is experiencing today through Haytham’s eyes. Haytham grew up in Derra in Syria, where the Arab protests began. The story follows Haytham’s father’s role in the protests and his own growing interest in the protests despite his lack of understanding. The Syrian revolution eventually see's Haytham and his family becoming political refugees and fleeing to France for a new, safer life.

I appreciate this graphic novel being told from the perspective of a child as you can see Haytham did not realise his childhood was not your ‘typical’ or ‘average’ childhood, did not fully understand the revolution and protests and was not emotionally ready for the sacrifices his family would have to make to be safe or the impact the revolution would have on him. However, this was also the downfall of the graphic novel in my view. I would have loved there to have been more. I could have easily read double the length of this story as I found myself constantly wanting more; more information, more details, more of Haytham’s story, thoughts and feelings. Since the novel is only 90 pages long, I felt it was too short to convey situations, day to day life, experiences and feelings fully. Similarly, I felt some aspects of the story to be ‘jumpy’ to get to a particular sections of the story or details were brushed over when more information would have made the reading experience more enjoyable and less confusing. I would have appreciated more clarity and smoother transitions, especially when mentioning historical events, important political individuals or Syrian groups as it took me a little while to work out what Haytham’s father was in protest of, what he was fighting for and who he was protesting. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed reading about Haytham’s life and felt almost more educated on the background of the Syrian war and was given a glimpse into what thousands of people have experienced and still do experience every day. I really liked how the story did not just end when the family made their escape to France but continued to detail their adaptation into the French culture and into their new life. I enjoyed reading about the day to day life in France, when Haytham could really be a child for the first time and do all the things he wanted to, like play football, try new foods, learn more and eventually go to university. It was an uplifting end to a very real and very current crisis.

I really liked the artwork utilised throughout, it was simplistic but effective. There was no need for huge volumes of detail because the simplicity of the drawings paired with the brief commentary were more than enough to portray the power of the story. I do think the use of colour could have been beneficial, especially before the protests began. A colour filled Syria would have been a beautiful portrayal in the graphic novel, followed by darker, contrasting tones when the protests and revolution began, ending with the beautiful scenery of France. The contrast with each environment would have been the perfect metaphor and brought more life to the story. I enjoyed the real-life pictures of Haytham and his family shown at the beginning and the end of the novel. It added a personal touch and made the story all that more real and hard-hitting for the reader. I did find the main text a little difficult to read at times due to the font style used.

I am thankful to have received a copy of this graphic novel to review by NetGalley and would recommend it to anyone, especially those who enjoy real life experiences expressed through graphics.

The war in Syria saw trough the eyes of a young boy, whose world changes out of the blue and who is lucky enough to be able to tell his story. As a European Syria means most of all people waiting at the Balkans border seen on TV, now that I live in Germany I realized how everybody was shocked, but as I am Italian I am pretty used to refugee. What I liked most is the way being a child influences the story and the way it was told, especially at the beginning.

La guerra in Siria vista attraverso gli occhi di un bambino, il cui mondo cambia improvvisamente, ma che é stato abbastanza fortunato da poterlo raccontare. Come europea, devo dire che per la maggior parte di noi la Siria ci ricorda la fila lunghissima di rifugiati in fila ai confini balcanici, specialmente da quando vivo in Germania, ma come italiana devo dire di essere piuttosto abituata ai profughi, a cominciare dall'Albania in poi. La cosa che piú mi é piaciuta é stato il modo in cui la storia é influenzata dal fatto che é raccontata da un bambino, specialmente all'inizio.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

The book follows the title character Haytham from the age of 4 until he becomes a University student. In that time he witnesses the Syrian revolution and sees his father become a political refugee. Eventually he and the rest of his family must join him and try to make a new life for themselves in France.

Lately, I've become a fan of graphic novels that are centered around historical or current events. I think they are a great way of making history and current events accessible. Haytham is an excellent example of this.

A Childhood in Syria (Haytham) tells the story of Haytham Al-Aswad, who grew up in Derra, Syria where the Arab Spring protests began in the country. The story follows his father's role in the opposition as well as Haytham's interest in it. Haytham and his family eventually flee to France and the graphic novel also discusses their life there.

This is a short, but powerful and educational read that provides a first-hand account of the Syrian conflict.

I loved reading this!
This tells the story of Haytham as he grows up in Syria during the revolution against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and his immigration to France to join his exiled father. I loved getting to read this from the perspective of a child who doesn't understand everything that's going on and the art was beautiful. This was a short and simple read, but powerful.
I also enjoyed reading about France and places I know from a foreigners point of view.

The stories of Syria aren’t often told in a way like this and it is much needed. I love that it’s in the point of view of a child and you can see that Haytham often didn’t realize that he didn’t have a normal childhood. The art worked well but it felt like it needed some color to make the story feel even more alive.
This is definitely an eye opening comic and i’m glad I came across it.

Haytham: a Childhood in Syria was an interesting comic, since we don't have enough comics telling the lost stories of Syrians. The comic centers around a boy named Haytham, who was born 1996 and had to see and feel the Syrian war that the world is still experiencing. I liked how everything was told from a child's perspective and how much it meant to leave and how at the same time Haytham didn't understand it all. This was also the downfall of the comic, since I would've wanted to dive deeper into the situation, the experiences and whatnot, since the comic is only 90 pages long. Basically too short to convey everything fully, which makes this seem slightly superficial. We don't really see the war, but we see resistance through Haytham's father's eyes, which was a good call. It seems unbelievable that he's family made through it all.

The art works well, although it's slightly toned down and light. Perhaps I would've enjoyed more if it had more depth, but I'm not saying this doesn't work. The thin line art is just the right way to bring this story to life, but the text font could've been clearer. A Childhood in Syria is an important comic and even with some flaws, it's still worth the read to understand the humane distress that is still evident in Syria.

A graphic novel in my experience can capture and transform a story. Make it more accessible and relate violence where words alone could not convey the brutality or inhumanity.
Syria must not be forgotten and it’s people struggling to find a safe home and sanctuary should never be ignored. But how quickly we move on with our lives and fresh headlines grab our attention. Self interest seems to be return and harsher realities and emotional reactions hold sway.
Syria must not be forgotten and I’m indebted that we have Haytham Al-Aswad’s story and I could read it. It is the story of a young boy growing up in Southern Syria close to the Jordanian border in Deraa. His country sought freedom from oppression long before the Arab Spring, after the death of Hafez El-Assad but the Ba’ath party held onto power. Hafez’s son rose to become the President, Bashar El-Assed ruled the country and suppressed all discontent.
When Arab states, like dominoes had regime changes, Syria held on. President Assed held on with a vice like grip, based on a Soviet model, Russian support and an Army turned on his people.
Haytham lived through this trauma, attended protests and had a Father leading the struggle in Deraa. He is a child who grew up quickly; loved his country and subsequently his adopted one that gave Asylum to his family.
This is a distressing story of courage and sacrifice, hopes and dreams through teenage years, above all a positive tale of survival amid so much death and destruction.
I’m pleased that Europe comics have brought yet another story from another culture and setting. This one is not such a happy association but it is a message and biography that needs to be heard.
Reading it perhaps will not change anything or save a life but I disagree.
It ensures Syria will not be forgotten. It produces an empathetic reaction and even the hardest heart should soften and embrace refugees.
God bless France and the generosity of its people and may we never dismiss the struggles of other or find no room for compassion in our hearts and politics.
Nicholas Hénin took Haytham memories into a moving account of protest and escape. Kyungeun Park created a mood and a sense of place that resounded with hope and despair, reverberated with choppers and gun fire and resonated with our spirit. Syria must not be forgotten

Vivid images and a strong story are presented in Haytham. This is an important book and a powerful graphic novel reading experience.