Habibi
Books | Comics & Graphic Novels / General
3.8
(129)
Craig Thompson
From the internationally acclaimed author of Blankets (“A triumph for the genre.”—Library Journal), a highly anticipated new graphic novel. Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them. We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world (not unlike our own) fueled by fear, lust, and greed; and as they discover the extraordinary depth—and frailty—of their connection. At once contemporary and timeless, Habibi gives us a love story of astounding resonance: a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and, most potently, the magic of storytelling.From the Hardcover edition.
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More Details:
Author
Craig Thompson
Pages
672
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published Date
2011-09-20
ISBN
0307381005 9780307381002
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"TW: rape, murder, incest, abuse, drugs, mutilation, sex work. This book is both sweet and extremely bleak. It's heavy with humanity's worst but also beautiful with poetry, storytelling, love. "
Ebbie Bee
"Beautiful tome. I wish I knew written Arabic, because while its in English, this is a gorgeous collection of words and visuals all wrapped up in a wonderful, but heartbreaking story. Really enjoyed the art and the touches of history, bible stories in relation to Quran, Arabian nights and other tales. Great female protagonist (though, there are some criticisms on how she's always portrayed sensually when she doesn't need to be) and exploration of male gender, and touches on greed, lust, religion, history, capitalism, power and conquering the world. Just...very well done."
Dana Reinert
"I was going to say I like this book more than expected but like is not the right work because I don't like it. I am intrigued/compelled to keep reading more than I expected, yet also mystified that I keep doing so. I am also mystified for the general praise for this book. <br/><br/>This is the type of book that makes me go "what's the point?" I feel most books either have universal themes we take from them or are just pure entertainment but I don't feel this book is either. What was Craig Thompson trying to say with this? Love is strong enough to withstand hell and back? Because truly, these characters experience that. <br/><br/>The other message I got was humanity has screwed things over and we're all living in the mire we've created. Perhaps this book is just too pessimistic of a view for me--I like to finish my books and feel there's still hope left in our world."
Liesl Prentice
"Amazing artwork as usual, from Thompson. I had a bit of trouble understanding the timelines at first because I'm a bit dumb, but I eventually caught on. Not sure if it's accurate, but the religious information was interesting in this contest. The material about eunuchs was also oddly interesting to me."
Andrew Greene