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lgtl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Trafficking
imartine's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Excrement, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Body horror, Addiction, Physical abuse, War, Fatphobia, Gore, Chronic illness, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Trafficking, Child death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, and Vomit
sigerj's review
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
whatisjordyreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Excrement, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Classism, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Pedophilia, Racism, Trafficking, and Transphobia
Moderate: Confinement and Fatphobia
nicmcphee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Violence, Confinement, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Body horror, Physical abuse, and Self harm
fools_egg's review
Definitely a white dude just exploiting racist stereotypes and tropes to create a traumatizing read.
Write what you know.
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Pedophilia, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Cultural appropriation
itzsupergirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual violence, Racism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Fatphobia
littlecake's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
So many things are wrong with this graphic novel so let me list a few :
- The orientalist interpretation on the main female character Dodola : she is constantly reduice to her sexuality. In the book, she goes through sexual exploitation and yet, the rape scenes are graphically deepicted again and again. Even during these scenes, her body is showed in an esthethic way, which is highly disturbing... In these pages, the panels with Dodola naked are more numerous then her with clothes... Even as a child she is shown using her sensuality. Westerners still exotise Muslim and/or arabic women and have a fantasy to unveil them (read Fanon or Said's work on that). This representation is highly rooted in sexism, orientalism and colonialism.
- The relationship between the main characters is disturbing and toxic on many levels. From Dodola being Zam's maternal figure to then being the object of his lust.. I mean it's such a creepy fondation for any love story...
- The story takes place in a fictional land called Wanatolia. This country is a mix of all brown people together. It has arabic language like Maghreb, a Sultan like Ottoman Empire, Hijras and salwar kameez like India, Slavery and so on. Again this emphasizes Thompson's Orientalist gaze : all this countries with so many different cultures, languages and interpretations of Islam are just crushed together in one joyous mix. Ultimately all brown people are the same.
- There is no positive representation of a male arabic/brown character. All of them are just lusty barbaric people, which reinforces stereotypes. Furthermore, these characters are caricatured (big or pointy noses, long beards, etc).
- Eventhough the myths are nicely drawn, some interpretations or representations made me uncomfortable. I understand that Thompson is not a believer, but when you pretend to be fascinated by someone's culture then you should respect it while representating it. Showing prophets face or showing them lusting is honestly disrespectful to so many faiths.
Honestly I could go on and on and pin point specific scenes or problems. But in the end, my conclusion would be the same : this is a book filled with white gaze, orientalist stereotypes and sexism. It's yet another example that own voices books matter.
Graphic: Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, War, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
blairnecessities's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence
skeptista's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
1.5
when i first stumbled upon this graphic novel, i didn't know what to expect seeing that the author is a white man.
when i started reading it, i really enjoyed the art style and the incorporated elements of islam and arabic, but as i continued reading, i looked up some reviews to try and see how muslims and/or arabs (and generally bipoc) felt about this kind of representation. i saw a few reviews going into details about the problematic nature of this novel so i looked up some blogposts and continued to do some research. i must admit, i'm in the middle of exam season so i couldn't dedicate much time to exploring other people's views on the book (something i plan on doing during summer break) but most of what i had seen has opened my eyes and made me think more critically of the rest of the novel.
what i personally found very problematic since the beginning was the way rape is romantised and the weird dynamic between the two main characters. Dodola is oversexualised and made out to be this beautiful woman who looks perfect and is hairless in spite of her living conditions. as for the romantic relationship between her and zam, i just felt so fucking weird and uncomfortable. ever since that first scene where zam was lusting after a girl he perceived as his SISTER/ MOTHER i knew this was going to play a big role in the novel and was admittedly going to bother me for the rest of the book.
i stumbled upon an interview the author did with a muslim man (Nadim Damluji) who had previously written a post stating the problematic aspects of habibi. i didn't read the whole interview but i read enough to know i won't be reading anything from this author again. i will leave the link down below if anyone wants to read it themselves and form their own opinion.
https://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/201...
i'm also adding this part because i was in pure disbelief while reading it.
"ND: This brings us back to how Dodola’s body functions primarily as a commodity, how even when the resources run out her body remains a marketable asset. I’m curious about if you ever felt aware of the baggage of her being sexed the whole time, even if that is purposefully through Zam’s perspective. If you ever felt wary of the contradiction between putting a feminist character into a societal position where there is perpetual forced sexualization of her body. I understand you as a “feminist” by putting Dodola out there in a way readers can sympathize with her, but then there’s an aspect of some readers maybe living out their own perverse sexual fantasies through the ways she’s treated. Do you see a danger in that?
CT: I don’t see a danger in it, but I definitely see a contradiction in it. So when you define me as a feminist, I’m OKAY with that, but there’s an irony in men claiming to be feminist to some degree. You can be sort of intellectually feminist, or claim to be, but there’s still a more primal animal instinct. You know, it’s the irony that some men who claim to be so intellectually feminist are the exact same people who are womanizers. Every time I meet another sensitive male it just bores me. And there’s nothing more painful than hearing a guy say he’s a lesbian trapped in a male body. So I’m exploring that contradiction: any man claiming he’s feminist is bullshitting, because your still animalisticly male. Again, I’m talking about heterosexual desires, but this crosses over to all sexual genders from transsexual people to homosexuals. That’s what I was exploring in my own life, that your sex drive is in conflict sometimes with ethical beliefs and you have to recognize both energies. If you put all the negative aspects of your sexuality in the shadow, then you’re probably going to fuck up and make some sort of mistake in your life, the way that politicians and televangelists do when we hear about their sexually deviancy. It’s the classic Catholic Priest scenario: if you don’t own up to your own shadow elements then they’ll emerge anyways and much more destructively."
do with that what you will.
all in all, i will steer clear from craig thompson and will look into reading books from muslim and arab authors as well as continue educating myself on the harmful stereotypes and misconceptions of such.
edit: can't believe i forgot to say this: the part where dodola forgives her first husband for molesting and raping her because he... what? can't control himself? i cannot believe craig thompson thinks this is how women should/do think. disgusting.
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Transphobia
Moderate: Incest, Death, Abandonment, Murder, and Fatphobia
castration