Although it is not autobiographical, it is based on Marguerite Abouet’s experiences growing up in the Côte d’Ivoire. The book is beautifully drawn by Clément Oubrerie and captures the vibrancy of both the place and characters. I felt like I’ve met some of these people, and I want to know what happens to them. The book combines humour and social critique with believable characters. (An aside about the familiar: as a young woman living in my hometown, I had to put up with visits from so-called eligible bachelors living abroad who were scouting around for a nice Indian wife! So Aya’s visit to Moussa’s family resonated with me.)

And that is what is so great about this series-this mix of the familiar and the new. At the end of the book, there is a recipe for sauce arachide, the peanut sauce that is typical of the region. And once the maquis close, it is where lovers meet at night.

Young people go to the maquis, open-air restaurants that are informal and cheaper than proper restaurants. But it is also a glimpse into life in Yopougon. The mother and daughter are the core of this community-both, in their own ways, provide succour and level-headedness.Īya of Yop City is, in many ways, a universal story, and young women (or those of us who were once young!) will identify with it. When Adjoua becomes pregnant, she goes to see Aya’s mother, Fanta, who is a healer. In the first few panels, the reader is introduced to all of them. The family is central, and the girls’ families are very much part of the story. The relationship has gone beyond partying, with the inevitable outcome-she becomes pregnant. Moussa has money to spend, and takes Bintou partying. Aya is not at all interested, but her friends are. But she has other plans and is determined to see them through.Īya’s parents set up a meeting with Moussa, the spoiled and none-too-bright son of Aya’s father’s boss.

It’s a conventional role for a woman, and something that Aya’s parents want for her too. Adjoua and Bintou, on the other hand, are interested in the “three c’s”: “ coiffure, couture et chasse au mari” (hairstyles, clothes and the hunt for a husband, preferably a rich one). The central character, Aya, is a hard-working and ambitious young woman who wants to become a doctor. The three friends-Aya, Adjoua and Bintou-live in Youpougon (known as Yop City in slang), a neighbourhood of Abidjan in the Côte d’Ivoire.

They rebel against their parents, pick unsuitable boyfriends and try to figure out their place in the world. The three young women in Aya of Yop City, the first in a series of graphic novels, have boys, parties, marriage and future careers on their mind. Translated from French by Drawn & Quarterly

Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet