Antonio Altarriba and Kim's 'L'art de voler' Tells a Father's Story Through Spanish History

The graphic novel 'L'art de voler,' written by Antonio Altarriba and illustrated by Kim, translated from Spanish by Alexandra Carrasco and published by Éditions Denoël Graphic, recounts the life of Altarriba's father, who died by suicide at age 90 by jumping from a window. The narrative, told in first person, follows the father's journey from being mobilized in Franco's army, crossing enemy lines, becoming a driver to avoid using his shooting skills, enduring the exodus and French camps, forced labor, joining the French Resistance, attempting life in France after Liberation, and ultimately returning to Spain where his youthful dreams faded. The book is praised for its rare delicacy in the opening pages where the son assumes his father's identity, and is recommended as essential reading for understanding Spanish history, even suggested as mandatory in schools. The father kept a fetish object: the espadrilles of Durruti.