Reviews

The Apartment in Bab el-Louk by Donia Maher, Ahmad Nady, Ganzeer

loper100's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

What is poetry supposed to do but move you? 

What is art supposed to do but make you feel? 


This book, regardless of anything else I have to say about it, did that. 

I will be thinking about the turn of the page, to be met with a shock of brilliant photographic sky, pregnant with rain for days. 

And that is enough. 

will_cat_books's review against another edition

3.0

2.5 ☆

munyapenny's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

unabridgedchick's review against another edition

3.0

What did I read? A slender, small graphic novel/poem of a person -- housebound and observant, but nosy -- and a place -- an apartment complex in the heart of the city, plagued by terrors real and imaginary. The garish, two-toned illustrations make it all the creepier. I don't think I liked this, but maybe I did?

apoetaster's review against another edition

5.0

Very unsettling, both narrative and illustrations. A blend of reality and the imagined, again, in both the story and the imagery. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this one, and it really threw me for a loop.

nicolemillo's review

reflective fast-paced

This snapshot of life in the apartment in Bab el-Louk was a good way to kick off my exploration of Egypt for #InvisibleCitiesProject this month. This is described as a ‘noir poem’ but it felt more informed by zine-culture to me. I like how some of the imagery and words came together, and some of the playful typesetting was fun and engaging