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A review by dembury
Habibi by Craig Thompson
2.0
(No plot summary here, just my thoughts.)
I don't know. This book was exciting to start, but the further and deeper I got into it, I felt confused and uncomfortable. Honestly, the academic side of me feels as if I should reread parts of this to understand it more thematically, but I kind of...just...don't...want to. I'm over this.
I try to keep an open mind in my reviews, however, in this one I'm just going to say this flat out:
I didn't like it. That statement isn't based on the art/plot/character/etc, but in the same way someone might say they don't like a certain food. "Habibi" just wasn't for me.
First of all, this book is 80% drawings of boobs. And that's not to say that *boobs* are the problem-not at all! The problem is there just seems to be little or no purpose to having so many of them drawn in so many ways on SO. MANY. PAGES. Literally every other page there are boobs and the main character herself is topless for most of the book. The boobs don't drive the plot forwards at all- they are largely there for the sexualization of the women characters. Again, I don't have a problem with the nudity, but there needs to be a purpose for it, especially in a graphic novel where most of the reading is visual.
One of the major themes of this book is sex and sexuality- Dodola, the main female character, is sold and raped at a young age. She sleeps with passing men in exchange for food and water. She is later part of a sultan's harem. She is raped again. And although this is part of the story, all of it begins to feel very uneasily sexualized, almost lingered upon simply for the sake of the visual. [I just saw another review where someone called it very voyeuristic, and that's eerily correct. I agree.] I don't think there was a single female character in here that wasn't abused/naked/miserable for all of their arc.
The male main character, Zam, also has a storyline that leans heavily on sex/sexuality, and where that thread went just seemed to ramble on and not add up to much. There are people he encounters who he is told to stay away from because they are "whores", and these characters suffer the brunt of the abuse in that plot. It just began to feel uncomfortable, and not in a way that books are supposed to sometimes feel uncomfortable.
As a reader and a writer, I know not every story is going to be happy or feel-good. Life has uncomfortable moments and books reflect life. "Habibi" isn't meant to be a happy-go-lucky novel. But it really evoked a strong sense of unease- I felt as if I had to tell myself "It's okay, it's just fiction, keep reading" for parts of this. But fiction has a strong impact, and it lingers with you, and this wasn't a story I cared to really remember.
Moving on: the setting/world was so CONFUSING. Everything is built up in a world that feels very Middle Easter, almost Biblical, and then WHAM! There's a Jeep?? And people wearing sunglasses?? And dump trucks?? Oh, but wait, now we're back to camels and tunics and clay jars of water? Oh wait- now there's a FREAKIN PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE COMPANY??!?
I gave up on trying to understand if this was supposed to be a fictional world or a blending of a urban/desert Middle Eastern city. The geography made no sense. The world was confusing.
Also, some of the side characters and scenes were just gross. This is a very biased thing, but they just made me feel sick. The fisherman character, Noah, in the later parts was just incredibly creepy to me. His mental state was really disturbing and I almost stopped reading. It's not a dramatic part of the book, I just simply didn't like it. Same for the short little man in the harem, most of the eunchs, and nearly every main male character.
I think the strongest part of "Habibi" was the art style itself- there were some lovely pages, mostly when Dodola was telling Bible stories or parts of the Quaran. There's a delicate intricacy to the pages that is atmospheric and luring. The artwork is really what's getting most of that second star rating.
Read this if you want. It has a couple small nice moments. The art is good. But it's just not the greatest graphic novel out there.
I don't know. This book was exciting to start, but the further and deeper I got into it, I felt confused and uncomfortable. Honestly, the academic side of me feels as if I should reread parts of this to understand it more thematically, but I kind of...just...don't...want to. I'm over this.
I try to keep an open mind in my reviews, however, in this one I'm just going to say this flat out:
I didn't like it. That statement isn't based on the art/plot/character/etc, but in the same way someone might say they don't like a certain food. "Habibi" just wasn't for me.
First of all, this book is 80% drawings of boobs. And that's not to say that *boobs* are the problem-not at all! The problem is there just seems to be little or no purpose to having so many of them drawn in so many ways on SO. MANY. PAGES. Literally every other page there are boobs and the main character herself is topless for most of the book. The boobs don't drive the plot forwards at all- they are largely there for the sexualization of the women characters. Again, I don't have a problem with the nudity, but there needs to be a purpose for it, especially in a graphic novel where most of the reading is visual.
One of the major themes of this book is sex and sexuality- Dodola, the main female character, is sold and raped at a young age. She sleeps with passing men in exchange for food and water. She is later part of a sultan's harem. She is raped again. And although this is part of the story, all of it begins to feel very uneasily sexualized, almost lingered upon simply for the sake of the visual. [I just saw another review where someone called it very voyeuristic, and that's eerily correct. I agree.] I don't think there was a single female character in here that wasn't abused/naked/miserable for all of their arc.
The male main character, Zam, also has a storyline that leans heavily on sex/sexuality, and where that thread went just seemed to ramble on and not add up to much. There are people he encounters who he is told to stay away from because they are "whores", and these characters suffer the brunt of the abuse in that plot. It just began to feel uncomfortable, and not in a way that books are supposed to sometimes feel uncomfortable.
As a reader and a writer, I know not every story is going to be happy or feel-good. Life has uncomfortable moments and books reflect life. "Habibi" isn't meant to be a happy-go-lucky novel. But it really evoked a strong sense of unease- I felt as if I had to tell myself "It's okay, it's just fiction, keep reading" for parts of this. But fiction has a strong impact, and it lingers with you, and this wasn't a story I cared to really remember.
Moving on: the setting/world was so CONFUSING. Everything is built up in a world that feels very Middle Easter, almost Biblical, and then WHAM! There's a Jeep?? And people wearing sunglasses?? And dump trucks?? Oh, but wait, now we're back to camels and tunics and clay jars of water? Oh wait- now there's a FREAKIN PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE COMPANY??!?
I gave up on trying to understand if this was supposed to be a fictional world or a blending of a urban/desert Middle Eastern city. The geography made no sense. The world was confusing.
Also, some of the side characters and scenes were just gross. This is a very biased thing, but they just made me feel sick. The fisherman character, Noah, in the later parts was just incredibly creepy to me. His mental state was really disturbing and I almost stopped reading. It's not a dramatic part of the book, I just simply didn't like it. Same for the short little man in the harem, most of the eunchs, and nearly every main male character.
I think the strongest part of "Habibi" was the art style itself- there were some lovely pages, mostly when Dodola was telling Bible stories or parts of the Quaran. There's a delicate intricacy to the pages that is atmospheric and luring. The artwork is really what's getting most of that second star rating.
Read this if you want. It has a couple small nice moments. The art is good. But it's just not the greatest graphic novel out there.