Habibi (Pantheon Graphic Library)

This book presents an entirely new experience. It has aspects of comic books I enjoyed as a kid. It quotes and uses much of the Koran in the story. Its illustrated borders and Arabic script are outstanding. The story line is pretty good. Depending on how one wants to interpret the story and illustrations one might either say that it is pornographic or that it has a religious meaning. I feel that it is both.

This... graphic novel (?)... is masterful, it's like Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Voltaire's "Candide" had an adult baby rich in wisdom and experience and I got to sit down and have a serious night of drinking with it. Thompson is precocious and I am glad to be his witness. Precise. Brilliant. A true gift for the eye and brain. There is nothing gratuitous about the sex and violence. It's necessary to this experience. (Further, the story is not hard to follow. The black-bordered pages are histories to the white-bordered ones. There is so much to discover. It's a richly embriodered tapestry which unwrinkles before your eyes.) Buy this and read it.

Craig Thompson has made another beautiful story about love. The artwork is amazing as you would expect. Even though I believe Blankets is one of his best works, I think this book is just as satisfying. If you haven't bought this book, then I suggest you do so. Any person that loved Blankets will most likely love this book too. Or just buy it for Craig Thompson's illustrations, which are marvelous.

The story; harrowing. Characters you can empathize with, in a story which makes wonderful use of the graphic novel to ensure that both the words and the pictures will stay with you long after you finish the book.

I read lots of different books this year. Just like when I go to a movie I always think to myself : what if this book, is the book of the Year ?

I had the answer to this question few pages after I started reading (admiring, living, breathing) Habibi. This book is an ode to poetry, art and love. It is also a brilliant, unique and original manifesto of the rich and unravelled Arabic/Islamic culture. You'll be just thrilled.

I bought 3 of them till now. I think that this book is the perfect gift for anyone.

I rarely write reviews on the store, but for this masterpiece I head to. Hope you like as much as I do.

The drawings are somtimes almost psychedelic, sometimes full of arabian caligraphy or filled with beautiful caricatures.
I loved it, though some might say the drawings aren't as realistic as they should be.
But they sure do deliver the message.

again, Oversea order, this book was very thick, the shipper wrapped it with those bubble plastic, so make sure the book was not damaged, i really enjoy reading this book, learnt different perspective in different clutrue etc. LOVE IT. and Thanks for shipping it so nicely.

THank you,

Kate

While this book had scenes and delt with issues that were inappropiate for young readers, this book told a poweful story and had AMAZING art work.

Over 600 beautiful pages for a little over $20. This is a must buy for any fan of the Comic genre.

I was really excited when i heard about this book. I loved blankets and was really looking forward to his take on an arabic love story. There is no doubt the book is beautifully drawn and through the storytelling it is obvious that Thompson has researched the Qur'an and calligraphy, but the story between the main characters and their surrounding cast tends to get lost at times. Blankets was a story that kept you wrapped in the characters and enthralled with what transpired between them. Blankets does not achieve this at the same level.

I do agree with some reviews that harp on stereotyping, but I don't think it is as bad as some claim. Some of the stereotyping I see being used more for metaphoric purposes than anything, not to be taken as a literal stereotype or insult. I have also read reviews claiming that the main character and women in general are over sexed - I would also disagree with that. Sex is used as a plot device in many instances, but the characters also prove themselves to be resourceful and self reliant in other ways.

In all, I would say this is definitely worth reading and I did enjoy it. It just loses a bit of the storytelling mastery that made Blankets such a wonderful book, and does not make up for this loss completely by other means.

To provide background, I'll mention that I haven't read any other works by the author. I don't know if they are similar and I went into this book with a clean slate, with no more expectations that what was stated in the glowing review excerpts on the cover and sleeve.

The Good: The art style is, at first anyway, really interesting. There are lots of creative images made from Arabic writing, and plenty of thought-out images connecting old parables to the current events in the story. This stuff is very impressive, for the first 400 pages or so.

The Bad: The first thing that really made me put the book down several times was a serious lack of defined tone. People say that this book is mesmerizing, and use other such adjectives. It's important to realize, however, that being mesmerized is a synonym for being transfixed, even tricked. That was my initial reaction for sure, I was totally unsure of how to react, simply reading with vague interest like I was in a trance. Soon enough, though, I realized that the spell only lasts for so long, and the tone issues were the first thing to break my appreciation for the story.

Here's what I mean: the first few pages of the story begin with the selling off of an extremely young girl to marriage, followed by the rape of said girl, who is one of our protagonists. She is made to wear the cloth on which her virginal blood was spilled. Then the husband teaches her to read and write, and begins telling her stories. Then slavers come, slit the husband's throat and drag the girl off to be sold in a slave market. There she meets the young black baby who will be the second protagonist in the story.

Now what I've just described is only a tiny portion of the total page count, but it is by far the densest part of the book in terms of story, cementing a very dark and brutal tone. Even beyond realism, this is stereotypical to the point of being nightmarish, which I don't have a problem with. The one star reviews complaining about racism, sorry, I don't see that. But the book is most definitely twisting reality to give an ultra grim appeal, which is great.

But consider what happens next. In an action sequence worthy of Scooby Doo, the girl grabs the baby and makes a run for it, while two bumbling fools chase after her, frequently tripping over things and crashing into each other because of her speed, or rather their bizarre incompetence in this one moment. How does this girl have such speed and strength? She's probably ten years old and carrying a baby during some parts. Moreover, why is it suddenly a tense but somewhat comedic, comical chase scene when everything leading up to this has held the exact opposite tone? There are other instances like this as well, weirdly off place moments of action that just seem silly and impossible, breaking my commitment to the story. One moment that I laughed at was where Dodola (the girl turned woman through the story's course) tells a story of how when she was very young, her villagers made her dance, in hopes that it would inspire rain to fall. In a hilariously stupid panel, she says that what came was acid rain, and we see an image of the villagers reduced to cringing skeletons in the downpour. Acid rain is not that powerful. Is this a realistic tale or not? Moments like this clash with a more pragmatic scene where Dodola has to turn water into gold, and does so in a way that is extreme, but not absurd.

For a while, I was behind the contrast of mystical fairy tales and parables that comfort the main characters versus the insanely brutal reality of their lives, but the author does not commit to this dichotomy, and often his story makes no sense. For a massive portion of the book, the two protagonists are separated, and their method of reunion is so contrived, I literally shouted "What are the odds!". You can't argue that some mystical force guided them together, because the world is not mystical. It's purposefully drawn, in both the one dimensional characters and garbage everywhere, to be as ugly and worldly as possible.

I feel I should clarify: having every other character be one dimensional is not really a bad thing, as long as you focus the depth onto your main characters. Sadly, the female protagonist, Dodola, grows up to be an inconsistent bore. She is either jaded, laying about in self pity, or acting for mere survival, which are all fine if she didn't spend so much time thinking. I think over half of the pages in this book are flashbacks, internal monologues, and other navel gazing that simply does not qualify to fill up a book like this. There are times where I just wished I could see someone do something, instead of reading even more about the Qur'an.

Both characters are rather blunt interpretations of sexuality. It seems that both are plagued with the author's perceptions of what haunts men and women. Zam seems to represent a weird guilt and detachment regarding sex and masculinity, fearful of being turned into a monster, and an abuser of women, he develops a self-hatred for being male. Dodola is the virgin-turned-whore, used, separated from the few who love her, and then discarded after living a life only related to sex. I know this because Dodola talks about it constantly. Zam's moments are a bit less talky, which I appreciated. It's frequently the images in his mind that reveal his trouble with masculinity. It's a shame that these concepts of masculine guilt and feminine use are not better explored, and instead the book is forced to juggle environmental and societal issues that feel shoved in for added visual flare (wow, look at the contrast between that twenty first century garbage and the intricate Arabic bazaar!).

This novel is billed as a tale about storytelling itself, and about love and suffering. That's all fine, but I'd be hard pressed to pull an actual conclusion or meaning to the work, mainly because the work has no ending. The narrative crawls like a dehydrated snail up a sheer cliff. I cant stress enough that every single tiny moment of action (or usually inaction) by the characters is roadblocked by one or more back to back religious parables. These stories are then brought into significance through usually one single page, linking, for instance, a story about Abraham sacrificing his son to the loss of Dodola's 'child' in Zam. The first twenty times this happens, it's fairly interesting. After that, it becomes an obvious formula to fill up the story, and I just wished the author would get on with it.

A truly great story is one that ramps up in speed and intensity, promising for a thunderous conclusion that sticks to the reader. Habibi cannot be described by any of those characteristics. The story leaves nothing resolved aside from potential happiness between the protagonists, and I really emphasize the word 'potential'. This is the kind of work where you want to see the one dimensional rapists, racists and murderers receive comeuppance in some way, or a scene where the characters are settled down in a safe place, but there is no happy ending or consolation, and neither is there any sort of brutally realistic message about letting go or moving on provided. They story just ends, like an unfinished sentence.

A final note about the artwork. I know this will shock people, but at times I wasn't impressed with it. It's often the commitment of dialogue and words to a page with images that is the problem. The images are rarely bad, but the written words are often very bland. I remember a scene where Dodola is screaming at one character, and the other character is calmly replying to her. This is a great moment to show not only a difference in the drawing of the characters, but in their written dialogue. Dodola's speech could be scratchy, larger, anything really. Even the panel could have been sharper or tighter on the words. But this obvious opportunity is missed, and both characters have an identical font and style.

That really sums it all up. Habibi to me is characterized by a seriously separated understanding of images and words without a proper union of the two. The artwork may be great, but I go to art galleries for nice pictures. I read graphic novels to get a perfect union of image and story, which in this case is not present. For every praise I could give to the art, I've two complaints about the writing. For that reason, it comes up to a whole less than the sum of its parts, and I have to give it a rating below average.

I have not read any graphic novels, but I thought I would go out on a limb and try Habibi. It was a good read, but not something that I would look forward to reading the next day in anticipation. Not because it is not a good story, but the graphic novel format is not something that to me lends itself to being a page turner.

Besides its obvious beauty, what bothers me about the book is the way it treats rape as erotic. Female nudity far outweighs male nudity, and the main character is so objectified that I wondered if Thompson used porn poses for reference. The story is a heterosexual male fetish fantasy which eroticizes Middle Eastern cultures, and avoids most of the realities of human trafficking. Even the over-the-top Arabic decoration serves to romanticize Middle Eastern cultures, which puts the book on a purely sensual plane. The stereotyping of Middle Eastern and African males was embarrassing, even with the attempt to appreciate the Koran and other sources. Thompson is a deeply intuitive artist and his pages are gorgeous, so I kept going back and admiring his technique, but I couldn't get past the problems with sexism and race.

This book is beautifully illustrated, but not enough to sit through a story of rape, violence and castration. I'm not sure who this book was written for, but the ending does not justify the hardship. I was hoping for a more positive Muslim story, but I guess when an outsider is telling the story it's not going to happen.

This book is beautifully illustrated, but not enough to sit through a story of rape, violence and castration. I'm not sure who this book was written for, but the ending does not justify the hardship. I was hoping for a more positive Muslim story, but I guess when an outsider is telling the story it's not going to happen.

As always Craigh Thompson delivers an excelent graphic novel with lovely drawings and a exhiting story. the store deliver for the second time in a row a book that is not in a very good condition beacuase of a bad wrapping. Really disapointing to pay more than 20 dollars and get a bok with damaged and rumpled corners, why not give heavy books an extra wrapping of bubble plastic? By your copy at a store, better pay an extra buck and get a copy in mint condition with out any hassle!

Ordered Habibi as a Christmas gift, and was very anxious to receive it. The product was absolutely perfect, and I highly recommend the book-- however, the shipping took nearly 2 weeks. Luckily, it came just 2 days before Christmas! Thanks!

“Habibi” is a beautiful book, hard bound with gilt trim on the cover, amazingly intricate designs framing many of the pages, flowing Arabic calligraphy. But its content is ugly: women victimized, men greedy and violent, children abused. At first I thoughtits world was in the past; then as I continued to turn the beautifully decorated pages I realized that it was the present, in some Middle Eastern country where the gap between tradition and modernity is as wide as the gap between the poor and the rich.

On one level “Habibi” is a fairy tale in which two orphans find and help each other despite the violence and sordidness of their surroundings. But ALL the wickedness resides in the men in power, ALL the men are caricatured as unsubtly as Bluto from the old “Popeye” cartoons, and almost ALL the victims are helpless women, most of whom look like sad Disney princesses. (Eeven Olive Oyl fought back!).

There are some lovely passages. Each episode starts with Dodala, the heroine (and a dead ringer for Disney's Jasmine in "Aladdin"), telling a story to her friend and charge, Zam. Each story takes a familiar tale from the Bible and explores it from both an Islamic and Christian point of view. This part I loved.

But I could not integrate these stories with the harshness of their surroundings. One man, after raping the nine-year-old Dodala, shows her kindness, but is killed by bandits within the first dozen pages of the book. There is no gleam of pity for the subsequent 600+ pages.
Thompson must have worked very hard on this book. He had to learn to write Arabic (though one of the other reviewers complains that he makes mistakes) and he drew amazing intricate pictures and borders. I suppose he could justify the content by saying something about how the storyteller conceals and redeems the ugliness of the world – but the device didn’t work for me.

[Note: for the language police – this book contains the N word]

I received Craig Thompson's graphic novel Habibi as a Christmas gift this year. Ever since I read his Blankets I have been tracking him and so when Habibi was released I absolutely wanted to get it (so it was an awesome gift).

I essentially consumed the whole 600 plus pages in one day. Before I get into the review I should say a few things - I have read other reviews of the book already. Typically I do not do this but I wanted to get a sense or the reception of such an unusual creation.

Broadly speaking critics have widely praised the technical excellence of the art and drawing Thompson has achieved with Habibi. Critics are more divided however on the content in terms of story.

Habibi is a story filled with tragedy, allegory, metaphor, love and desire influenced heavily by the style and art of Arabic script. The story is also substantially influenced by the Quar'an and Islamic culture.
There is no sense of time in Habibi having a blend of past and present influences. The story is set in a fantasy version of our own world that serves to act as a satirical vehicle for commentary on themes of environmental stewardship, anti-consumerism, racism, misogyny, sexism, gender intolerance and a strong voice against a the current growing disparity between the wealthy and the poor and all the suffering that goes with that. Through it all Islam also serves as a representative of all three major middle eastern faiths being influenced by both Judaism and Christianity. Throughout the text Thompson keeps his critical voice free of hate and treats the subjust of religion and faith with deep respect in the form of his main characters Dodola and Zam.

Some reviewers have accused Thompson of cultural misappropriation and misrepresentation considering it inappropriate for him to offer up Islamic, Muslim and Arabic themes and settings as a white, mid-western American. While I understand those concerns I think they are not warranted given the respect with which Thompson treats the subject matter. It is somewhat patronizing for a member of another culture to state that one from the outside can offer no level of understanding or contribution; that one cannot learn. This perspective is divisive and is what has led to much of the cultural and religious conflict that exists today.

The characters of Dodola and Zam somehow manage to encompass virtually all the forms of oppression one can imagine in the world today and it is their relationship with one-another and their faith that somehow guides them along the way. It is difficult to tell which informs which as the threads of the story are so deftly intertwined that it seems that faith is informing life as life is informing faith.

One of the things I appreciate about Thompson is, while he seems to stand outside of belief and faith (at least based upon my reading of his previous work Blankets) he handles his subject matter with great respect and fearlessness. His fearlessness pushes him to go places others would not likely tread such as his treatment of sexuality.

His respect and fearlessness combine in his treatment of the Prophet Muhammad. As a visual medium Thompson runs the risk of breaking the Islamic prohibition against depicting the prophet yet he does depict the prophet - only he is always veiled so as to be visually neutralized - respectful and fearless in one.

I loved Habibi. I loved it from cover to cover, every word and image. It is brilliant and necessary and I believe is another work that sets Thompson apart from others in his genre. With Habibi Thompson has done what great artists always do - lifted his work above its genre into something universal and beautiful.

Beautiful artwork in this book. That is the only good thing I have to say about graphic novel. It is a highly offencive story that fetishizes rape, while simultaneously pretending to criticize it. However you are reminded that the author is the one that brought us on this disgusting story in which a woman is repeatedly demoralized raped and forced to sell herself for food to care for her adopted brother. Her brother is black and he is drawn in a way that looks surprisingly like races drawings from the 1920s cartoons. Also he and other black characters in the book act in a very stupid in cartoonish way, even some of the characters talking and some sort of Americanized ebonics slang! Beyond that there is even a part in the book that is very transphobic as the male character spends a long time living with eunuchs dressed in women's clothes and the author's treatment of their their Community is disparaging. On top of that the author portrays Islamic culture as barbaric and backwards and claims that the setting for the book is a fantasy world, however the fantasy is not developed at all. This was the most racist book I've ever read. Absolute garbage.

Habibi (Graphic Novel)
Black and white
Craig Thompson
Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon
Publication Date: First Edition - September 20, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0375424144
672 pages

Habibi ("my beloved" in Arabic) by Craig Thompson is an incredibly moving story of love, loss and redemption that blankets almost every emotion in the human grab bag. It's also a beautifully detailed piece of graphic art with what I can only assume began with a great deal of research and countless hours of design. It is erotic, brutal, sad, joyous, dark, evil, sinister, mature, compassionate, and alive with real, sympathetic human beings. The layout, calligraphy, and complex artwork are, in my opinion, absolutely gorgeous; the work of genius. Every page reveals just how brilliant a graphic artist Craig Thompson is. Each panel is aesthetically pleasing to the eye (usually in more than one aspect - i.e. numerology, characters, religion, borders, language, etc.) and is filled with intricate, arabesque-like decorations that demand your full attention. Because of this, Habibi is not a page turning graphic novel that causes you to flip through quickly to see how it all ends (though you definitely want to.) Instead, the artwork is so engaging, detailed, and stunning that it forces you to take your time studying each page for the aesthetics and to capture all the vital pieces of the visual story. There is magic and craft between the covers of Habibi - both written and drawn. There is spirituality and faith and philosophy. There is cruelty, eroticism, butchery, and death but there's also love, hope, and beauty and that's where Mr. Thompson excels. While unconventional by anyone's standards the love story in Habibi is, nevertheless, touching yet always comes with a price. And while comfort and warmth lie just out of reach emotional distress and heart-ache fill the lives of every character in the story (as it does in life.) Erotic, paternal, and platonic the love story grabs you from the shocking opening lines and than holds you at arms length throughout. It is elusive but not frustratingly so to the reader. Thompson certainly understands how to draw his readers in (and keep their attention) both visually and emotionally.

Habibi is a pre-apocalyptic story depicting the slow demise of the planet earth and tells the tragic story of Dodola and Zam, child slaves bound to each other by chance, as they are caught up in the cruelties of a world on the brink of destruction. Pollution is at its all-time worst, water is a rare and expensive commodity, and the world seems to understand that its days are numbered. The characters too seem to act and react as if they are fully aware that the end is near. As the world decays we witness two souls searching to fit in and find love as they move slowly towards each other through the worst of circumstances, only to become separated, and then to find each other once again. Dodola and Zam's transformation between separations, brought on by the circumstances of an increasingly cruel world, serves to enlighten the reader about the distress of emotional suffering, the chasm between the first and third worlds and their religions, and the redemption found in hope and love.

File with: Love story, Eastern philosophy, religion, graphic design, art, Scheherazade, and the human condition.

5 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

It's more than evident why this book took Thomson several (I think seven) years to create. Visually it's astonishing work. Since it's so heavily relied on the Islamic culture it had to involve all aspects of Arabic art, I'm thinking in the first place calligraphy and then architecture with all traditional ornaments, incrustation and of course Arabic Alphabet. Every single page, starting from the cover which is gorgeous: hardcover with gold elements and richly ornamented.

I happened to know to read Arabic (though not to understand what I'm reading) and I've noticed a mistake which left me a bit baffled cause I wasn't sure if it has been left intentionally the way it stands there or not but then, there is no rational reason for leaving it like that: on the page 236 with the image of Adam in the first heaven who is watching the righteous ones on his right side in Jannah (paradise) and the cursed ones in Jahannam (hell) on his left side, the word ADAM is written correctly but ONLY if you read it left to right which is the wrong way to read Arabic. The letters should have been ordered in reverse.

So, visually this is a masterpiece. The story however is not matching the level of the drawings. It's heavily researched, no doubt about that but it goes in every direction. It has religious component, this time it is a story written in Qur'an and it is very interesting because there are parallels with the stories from the Bible. I liked very much the drawing on the page 618 with the tree of prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, Solomon, Jesus, Muhammad where the branches have been split and Muhammad's lineage can be traced back to Ishmael and the one of Jesus back to Isac, both (Ishmael and Isac) lying on the altar prepared to be sacrificed by Abraham. Fantastic!

The story that is happening in the present is the most confusing part: it deals with so many issues. Maybe the most prominent are environmental and the position of women in traditional societies. "Traditional society" is what confuses the most because we see Sultan with his harem and the treatment of women there as his properties which he kills (literally) because he's bored. (after he sexually exploited them quite heavily) And in the same time,just on the other side of the wall that surrounds the Sultan's palace is 21st century, modern city full of women without niqab or hijab on the streets. Huh?
Then there is a massive pollution that big city creates. On the streets of that polluted city in apparently Islamic world we will see group of hijras! Huh (again)? How on earth they ended there?

The name of the city, Wanadolia surely associate geographically on nowadays Turkey, though with all that deserts it's more Arabian Peninsula but definitively not India (though who knows; there are Muslims in India). The name of the main character, Dodola is actually (my) Slavic folklore. Dodola is goddess of rain in Slavic mythology and there was tradition where girls dressed in white dresses and flower wreaths on their heads, barefooted sang songs to attract the rain. Those girls (and the festival itself) are named Dodole (-e because it's plural).
Indeed, during Ottoman rule they were taking kids from their parents and Dodola might have been somewhere from Slavic region BUT her father would never be dressed like in the book. Because he's dressed clearly as a Muslim and no Muslim would name his daughter after Slavic goddess.

So the story is indeed going in so many direction leaving (at least) me a bit confused because of certain level of contradictoriness which bothered me because it could have been so easily avoided. But nevertheless it was enjoyable read and again I was sop enchanted with the drawings which in the end have saved the day :)
(Gosh, I'm staring in those stars not knowing how should I rate the book for last 5 minutes. If I'm to rate art work I would give 5 stars but the plot... I "liked it" but not "really liked it". I want to give overall 4 stars but feels like 3 is what I should give ... which I'll do. It's 3 stars)

A beautiful and ambitious book that made me think and made me uncomfortable. I wondered how much of my discomfort had to do with being a woman. There was so much graphic rape that I disturbingly found myself growing numb to it at points (which I think was actually Thompson's intent) but at times the nudity (which glorified the young, lithesome female body and included pages upon pages of breasts. Seriously, there must be thousands...) and sex seemed to cross the line to being gratuitous. However, overall this graphic novel most profoundly wove together a narrative that felt both contemporary and mythic with stories of the genesis of Islam and Christianity showing how the two religions, for better or worse, at their core are essentially the same. And as people, in our struggles, we are, too.

Imagine you are a child bride. Thieves enter your home, murder your husband, and sell you into slavery. No one is on your side: not your family, not the law. You are alone. That is, until you rescue a little boy nine years younger than yourself.

Craig Thompson’s latest creation is a far cry from the innocent adolescent awakening of Blankets. He crafts an exquisite tapestry of language, imagery, and layout. The Islamic geometric patterns and Arabic characters are not merely decoration; they are the patterns and characters of the narrative. The characters’ lives parallel the history of their people, prophets, deities, and legends. Habibi draws on the Qur’an, the Bible, One Thousand and One Nights, and astronomy to tell the story of a little girl who raises a little boy. The reader is compelled to love beautiful Dodola and faithful Zam as they endeavor to survive in the desert, the palace, and the slums. The book weaves in fantastic layouts, ranging from simple squares and rectangles to intricate patterns based on Arabic script and art. Thompson knits his magnum opus so tightly that it stands as a mythology in itself, imparting the story of the human race.

Reviewed by Kerry Lindgren

This book's impact begins with its exquisite and uniquely embossed cover. It feels odd to talk about its cover, but seriously this is one of those books that make me remember why I prefer the paper medium to the desensitized feel of e-readers. The feel of this book's firm yet supple cover in my hands, the fragrance of a freshly printed book, the comforting weight of its 600+ pages, and the handle provided by its thick-enough spine - everything complements the gorgeous visuals in the story.

It isn't a stretch to say that reading this on a Kindle would have cost me half the joy of experiencing this book. Note that I say "experience" rather than "read" - this isn't a book you read as much as one that you react to viscerally.

On the face of it, this is a love story (Habibi, the author explains, means My Beloved). However it is not a Harlequin romance by any stretch of the imagination. There are pages that left me feeling out of breath - at times because of the breathtaking imagery, and others because I felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach. So much so that I had to frequently come up for air, before I could tackle it again.

These are really three stories in one - with multiple timelines - all interwoven like the tapestries that the author depicts in almost every panel. There's the story of Dodola (the heroine of the story), that of Zam (the hero), and then there's Islam itself. The past, present, and future of these threads intersect through every page, until you are enmeshed in a harmonious symphony that is uniquely layered and rich.

Habibi is definitely not a story for the squeamish - avoid it if you have a weak stomach.

In many ways this is the untold story of millions of everyday people living in abject poverty, trying to make the best of their circumstances in a hostile world, with a deck that's stacked against them. It isn't pretty, but then oppression by socio-economic status rarely is.

Happy Reading!

The art is beautiful, and the multi-layered story is captivating. You have to read it carefully, because the whole of the tale is related in bits and pieces, often out of order, but all connected to one another. The overall impression is of a modern Arabian Nights, and indeed some of those stories are interwoven throughout, along with references from Islamic and Christian holy text. A completely worthwhile investment - this is a book you will want to keep on your shelf and read again. There is lots of sex (the unpleasant kind, mostly), violence, and ugliness in this book, but also transcendent beauty, a triumph of human love, goodness, and relationship in an otherwise dismal world. Lots to love here.

Habibi is 1001 wondrous things. It is story about orphaned children - an Arab girl and a Black boy - struggling to escaped servitude and cruelty. It is about the adventures of Mohammed and the Koran that the girl tells the boy to get him to sleep. It is a story about life in an Arab seraglio, the abuse of power and the encroachments of the modern world on the traditional world. Ultimately, it is a tale of loyalty, betrayal, grief and redemption.

Craig Thompson is what a graphic artist ought to be, but often is not - a talented draftsman and an impeccable story teller. His art curlicues in the Arab style, giving life and local vitality to his story. His characters are sympathetic and memorable. Dodola, the slave girl who sells herself for food and end up in a sultan's harem; Zam, the boy who loves Dodola as a mother, then a sister, then wants her as a wife; the Sultan, powerful, slothful and with an insatiable appetite for female flesh; his vizier, whose bowels let loose a constant fanfare of farts; and his gardener, as adept and eager to prune heads as azaleas.

The story itself is told in rococo flourishes, with many pages illustrated with a glorious excess of lines and detail. The sections on Koranic stories of Mohammed, and those taken from Islam legends, are beautifully told and drawn, as though from the hand of a longtime adept of that faith and worldview. Scenes of nudity - mostly female, abound in the story. Dodola and the young Zam often bathe together; Dodola is graphically raped by passing merchants; she serves as the Sultan's favorite sexual plaything. Truth be told, the breast-to-page ratio is extremely high - pretty much from beginning to the end. And the graphic (though not pornographic) depictions of childbirth and sex mirror the obsessions of the characters.

"Habibi" is a magical tale of two people trying to find sanity and love in a mad, cruel world.

This is a unique and major work. Two children, a boy age 3 and a girl age 12, living in a boat lodged in the desert, nurture each other for 6 years. Dodola procures food by visiting men in the caravan and Zam finds water. They separate and long to reconnect to the time when they were bonded in nurturing love. The narrative of their lives is infused with Biblical and Koranic stories.

The intricate drawings are to be viewed and viewed again. Slave bazaars, harems, sultans exist side by side with pipelines, dams and high rise construction. The kindly fisherman casts into an overfished sea filled with the detritus of civilization.

A lot of issues are covered: the bonds of love; religion, race, gender, the environment. The overriding theme seems to be exploitation, showing how it is and has always been present throughout recorded history. The stories and the stories within the stories are raw; this is not for the faint of heart.

There are thousands of drawings; some must have taken days to create. I expect that knowing Arabic would have enriched my understanding of the graphics. Despite censorship, I understand that this book has had a loyal following in the Middle East.

Seldom are book designers noted, but in this case someone needs kudos for the elegant cover: the positioning of Thompson's art work, the color and texture. The choice of paper (important given the weight of 600 pages) was also very good.

Aware of the treasure that this book is, I am withholding a star for two reasons. The first is the constant and not always necessary presence of naked women and ethnic stereotypes. The second is that the theme that I derived only "seems to be". While Thompson's earlier work, "Blankets", is less ambitious, the story builds tightly in words and graphics. The author's message is clear. Habibi is a more sophisticated, but the story sprawls and its graphics exploit and exploitation seems to be what Thompson is condemning.

I know that some may complain about the length of this book. When I borrowed it from my local library, I was quite astounded by its size, never having seen a graphic novel so long.
The length is a very minor inconvenience, however. It's actually a necessary component for the book to cover all the various themes and acts that it does cover. It's a graphic novel--how long could it take to read? The only reason it took me as long as it did to read 'Habibi' was because of the visual artwork that fills each page.

Beautifully drawn, and beautifully written--it was very difficult to put the book down. I was consumed by the narrative, and the conclusion tied the entire story together beautifully. I felt like I had just read a Harry Potter book, marveling at the intertwining subplots and themes, and then the overall integration of them all.

It's definitely a book that will leave you thinking about various issues: racism, sexism, religion, environmentalism, self-struggle, love, just to name a few. It leaves you to reflect on the state of our culture and society, and our roles in it. It subtly calls for self-reflection. It's an encyclopedia of issues, presented in the form of graphic novel.

The journey that the two main characters take, and the complexity of their relationship, and how they affect one another is so delicate. The story mirrors the fragility of our society, and of how our choices and our actions reverberate around us.

Even if you're not into graphic novels much, this is a book you can appreciate for its aestheticism. If you love stories, its narrative is beautifully written. If you want culture, 'Habibi' will take you to an entirely different world--one that is fantastic, yet somewhat like ours.
Whatever the case, it's definitely worth a read.

I think that readers who are tempted to dip their toes in graphic novel waters may want to give Habibi a try. Thompson's longer format may be more appealing to those used to traditional books. Also, the drawings in this book are exquisite! Each page is extremely detailed in this tome...language swirls into art which transforms into religious stories.

However, be aware that this is a dark adventure story...a sobering tale of Dodola and Zam trying to avoid enslavement. There are a lot of issues brought forth in this tale such as poverty and power struggles. The most blatant issue to me while reading Habibi was that of gender conflict - which manifested in the story through physical trauma (FYI for the squeamish: there's lots of sexual violence in this book).

Recommended For Those:

-In the mood for a heavier/dark read
-Who enjoy graphic novels (the illustrations will blow you away).
-Who like Middle Eastern settings
-Who are attracted to stories of struggle and overcoming of squalid circumstances

STUNNING!! Simply stunning!

It is rich in theme, potent in its content.

The execution of the plot makes for astounding storytelling.

The visuals have a stunningly breathtaking quality to it, it's like Craig's already beautiful style had reached soulfulness in Blankets and just went on steroids for Habibi. I mean, it is just some ridiculously hardcore eye candy (for a lack of better words) and I was already impressed by his previous works (obviously).

But then his art also compliments the story so well! I have never witnessed a more beautiful combination of art and words before, like a great dance between two ornate figures that seem to naturally flow together to create a story through movement and words. Both parts (the written and the drawn) amplify the other in embodiment of this masterpiece.

There is this distinct quality in Craig Thompson's works that had already been acknowledged and awarded and when I discovered him, I was impatient to read what he had in store next... but the six year production was definitely worth the wait. I think he really outdid himself in Habibi.

Exquisite storytelling. Craig Thompson has a gift for conveying complex emotional messages through images alone. One can guess at his vision, which is one of tolerance, understanding and peace, and is delivered subtly through delightful imagery, always with compassion for his characters; compassion for people in all walks of life.

I was highly moved and entertained by this wondrous tale of love and life. Aside from the original narrative, both the novel's intriguing non-linear progression and its subtle humour offered compelling reasons to keep reading. On a personal level, the main eunuch character drew my interest because his inner fears echoed the sentiments I worked to convey with my rendering of Admiral Zheng He, who is both a Chinese historical figure and the male protagonist of my historical novel, The Ming Storytellers. I felt a bond with Craig Thompson in that regard.

Craig's artwork sways gently between the divine and the erotic. I had never read Blankets, it was Habibi's cover and the beautiful Islamic calligraphy of the cover's interior which drew my eye. I had to own a hardcover version of Habibi! I was not disappointed.

A masterpiece.

One tourist trip to Morocco didn't make the author an expert on the so-called 'Middle East,' quite obviously. And neither did learning to copy (but not read or write) Arabic calligraphy. The admittedly intricate brushwork cannot save this book from its deeply problematic elements.

In sum, 'Habibi' is the result of an Orientalist Western fantasy of 'rescuing' Islam from negative stereotypes, an uplift mission that actually reinforces not only those unidimensional stereotypes but also the White Savior Complex. Read Thompson's interviews about his post-9/11 intentions for a glimpse into his motives...he claimed to want to 'humanize' Islam but disastrously fails. In execution, 'Habibi' is also mind-numbingly sexist and misogynist, especially because it glorifies sexual violence against girls and women. Eroticized (and beautified) rape is a template for the continuation of rape culture, rather than its banishment. It's as if the author is pretending to be horrified by something he's ultimately enjoying. Given how frequently (and sensually) he depicts Dodola's rape, Thompson truly appears to be getting off on the pornographic voyeurism of Dodola's continual ravishment (since age nine) by Middle Eastern men, who are portrayed almost uniformly as brutes. Ironically, these invented rapists are technically 'responsible' for the harm done to Dodola when the entire dark wet woman-hating dream is Thompson's. Instead of keeping this fantasy to himself, he felt the need to share it with the world and yet pass it off as 'playing with' Orientalism as a genre (which he admits in interviews.) The mother/son incest between Dodola and Zam also makes me queasy. Thompson's transphobia (in his portrayal of the eunuchs) is also worthy of pounding one's head against the wall of Hell No. And what's with the jive talk by men of African descent....as if they are speaking ebonics in the US?!

Calling this a work of fiction doesn't negate the need for responsible representation and moral culpability.

The fact that Thompson's editors (and some reviewers and critics) allow a free pass to all this (because pretty pictures and faux respect for Islam and superficial concern for the environment and corruption!) shows the serious need for more critical thinking and cultural/gendered sensitivity when publishing and consuming graphic novels. Even without the Orientalism, racism, misogyny, and transphobia, the plotline is carried by a poorly executed story bolstered by chronological/temporal illogics that cast the Middle East as simultaneously backward and precariously modern.

Frankly, this book is a disappointing tragedy. Irresponsible representational ethics make for dangerous aesthetics.

Habibi is a visual tour de force. Almost every page has at least one mind-numbingly gorgeous, sensual image. The basic story between Cham and Dodola radiates out in a hundred thematic directions at once, coming to bear on the history and parallels of the abrahamic religions, arabic writing and science, myth, fable, fantasy...I could go on. Thompson is a remarkable synthesizer of Islamic imagery and culture, yet even in it's most far flung reveries, the book still remains grounded on the small, often painful lives of it's two characters. For how cosmically transcendent the book tries to be, it's the little moments of sorrow, guilt and loss in Cham and Dodola's lives that really keep the whole thing grounded. And while at times Habibi might trade in a few Orientalist cliches, it's obviously the work of a deeply sincere, empathic artist trying to show how people use the culture and the stories around them to try and carve out a safe, sane space for themselves and those they love. Now that I've finished it, I find myself opening it to random pages and just becoming completely submerged in Thompson's images. Highly Recommended.

Extraordinary, moving, terrifying, compelling and exotic. Our power went out last night. I lit all my candles and picked up a Hedy Lamarr biography to read. Print too small. Picked up a book on John Lautner architecture. Photos too big. Picked up Habibi and it was just right. I was instantly lost and absorbed in the story of Dodola and Zam. My face was close to the pages. I could smell the ink, the paper, the fragrance of the harem, the stench of the slums of Wanatolia. The exquisite illustrations undulated with life and power. The candles on my desk liquified and I melted into the story world of The Prophet, Noah, Solomon and Bilquis, Abraham and Ishmael, Abraham and Isaac. I read/viewed each panel in a halo of liquid light, holding the glass with molten wax over each frame. Magical! Would I have treasured the experience of Habibi if I'd lived it in electric light? I'll never know. Read this book, and if you are willing for immersion in another dimension of storytelling, read Habibi by fragrant candlelight. You will be overwhelmed and absorbed by this masterpiece.

I really enjoyed Blankets by the same author and was very happy to see his latest project finally in print, after years of work.

The first thing that caught my attention was the art style which has matured and is gorgeous to look at, especially compared to the rather bleak scenery in Blankets. The story telling is also improved with jumps through time and gripping timing.
Sadly, in my opinion, the story itself feels a bit disjointed at times. Let me give an example: The main character starts out trapped in a very medieval themed harem only to escape into a modern city overrun with pollution. This type of dichotomy is always present. We almost constantly jump between a rather bleak modern day setting to a medieval/ fairy tale universe.

This might work for some people, but for me it made the whole book feel like two separate stories artificially joined together.

Overall a good graphic novel, but not my favorite.

Also as a side note expect a lot of sex and nudity when you pick this up. a lot

Craig Thompson is probably most famous for his wonderful Blankets and so when I found out he'd released another behemoth of a graphic novel I promptly purchased it. I love Thompson's fluid drawing lines, and was already very pleased with that in Blankets, but this is a whole new level of graphic inventiveness, framing and drawing. The book is simply stunning beautifully, and it amazes me that a book so beautiful and so big could be so affordable.

The story of Habibi in a nutshell is the story of two enslaved kids (a fair-skinned and beautiful girl and a black-skinned boy) who escape and live their formative years together until life tears them apart brutally. The story begins in what feels like a medieval arabian nights context with a few oddly modern bits thrown into the mix, but as the story progresses that feeling of timelessness slowly fades until you realise things are not quite as you originally imagined.

I don't want to spoil any of the story for potential readers, but I will say this: it's deep and intricate, told in a non-linear fashion with lots of flashbacks and interspersed with references to (relevant) muslim mysticism as expressed in the stories of the female character.

The book is enthralling although the sheer magnitude of it makes it impossible (or at least made it impossible for me) to read in one sitting. There are moments where the mysticism lost me, but I sense that everything is interconnected and probably will pick a lot more of the construction in a second reading.

In summary, Habibi is a very ambitious book, both in terms of the narrative itself and in its construction and religious references. It's not an easy read, but the story is strong enough to keep you going despite the complex structure and the intricate graphical constructions (which are sparsely and effectively used, but do make the reading a little tougher).

I thoroughly recommend it to those who enjoy intricate and exotic stories and have some prior experience with independant graphic novels. One thing I should mention is that a significant portion of the book occurs in a harem, so if you are easily offended by nudity, this is not for you.

Thompson, you might know, was the author of "Blankets," a beautiful and spare love story grounded in his own life. With Habibi he goes far afield and finds a wonderful story to conjure - one that lacks easy summation but deserves all the praise that has been and will be given to it. If you are a fan of the genre, or even if you aren't check out this book. I couldn't put it down, no matter how much it was hurting my wrists.