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alivemagdolene) wrote2011-09-25 11:54 pm
alivemagdolene) wrote2011-09-25 11:54 pm
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Book-It 'o11! Book #39
The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one and two, just in case you're curious.) This was a library request.
Title: Habibi by Craig Thompson
Details: Copyright 2011, Pantheon Books
Synopsis (By Way of Book's Official Website): "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."
Why I Wanted to Read It: While I could've sworn The AV Club had reviewed this book and thus introduced me to the work of Craig Thompson, I'm not finding a review for this particular book. I'm guessing that it was comparing his earlier work to a recent book by a different author, and when I went to request, this came up.
How I Liked It: As I said, I've read the author before, his memoir Blankets which was enjoyable enough if slightly plodding. The book itself still showed incredible talent. But that book is merely comics compared to the gorgeous, glorious, rich epic that is Habibi.
While art versus story are a frequent debate in the graphic novel (which is better and why?), the question is completely irrelevant here. The author's staggeringly elaborate pages are a feast for the eyes on every page. He devotes a section of the story to simply text to highlight a character's most troubled inner monolog, and yet somehow he manages to do so in a way that leaves the story no less bereft.
The story (and vast interconnecting stories) are no less impressive, wedding perfectly with the elaborate and intricate artwork. As mentioned in the description, the book does draw upon stories from the Bible and the Koran, but they run concurrent with the story in a relevant way. I'd hesitate to call this book a ally in the fight against Islamophobia (are bigots' minds really going to be changed by reading a graphic novel, even a gripping masterpiece of one?), but it certainly deserves mention for highlighting the poetry of the Arabic language, quietly pointing out the close relationship between Christianity and Islam, and creating memorable, relatable characters whose spiritual quests happen to be Islamic.
But the book isn't didactic to any one faith over the other. It has a beautiful, poignant ending, but not any one specific moral message, let alone in a heavy-handed fashion.
For most graphic novelists and for the medium as a whole, the most revered works (or holy grail, if you will) have almost entirely been memoirs: Persepolis, Maus, Funhome... even the highest praise for the author so far has perhaps been his own memoir, Blankets. But a bigger place must be made now for fiction as this book is quite easily the equal of any we've thus far held up as the premium standard.
This book is a must-read not only for graphic novel fans of all levels of passion (from the casually interested/relative newbie to the seasoned devotee), it's a must for anyone interested in the more narrow topics the book covers (Islam, Christianity, the relationship between the two, ecology, particularly ecofeminism). It's hard for me to recommend this book enough, so I will end this with just a fervent hope that this book gets the accolades and recognition it so richly deserves.
Notable: While I assumed the book was placed in a dystopian future, the author apparently set it in the present. It generally takes place in a fairytale (think Aladdin but more lush and detailed) landscape in which modernity (cars, electricity) can seem out of place (as I think was the author's goal: generally, we're seeing such things as garbage destroying a landscape or decorating a villain). During one such scene when a character surveys a desiccated landscape and tucked within but clearly visible is a McDonald's french fry package. Given McDonald's repeated appearances in Blankets, I'm tempted to wonder about this as a larger artistic statement.
Title: Habibi by Craig Thompson
Details: Copyright 2011, Pantheon Books
Synopsis (By Way of Book's Official Website): "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."
Why I Wanted to Read It: While I could've sworn The AV Club had reviewed this book and thus introduced me to the work of Craig Thompson, I'm not finding a review for this particular book. I'm guessing that it was comparing his earlier work to a recent book by a different author, and when I went to request, this came up.
How I Liked It: As I said, I've read the author before, his memoir Blankets which was enjoyable enough if slightly plodding. The book itself still showed incredible talent. But that book is merely comics compared to the gorgeous, glorious, rich epic that is Habibi.
While art versus story are a frequent debate in the graphic novel (which is better and why?), the question is completely irrelevant here. The author's staggeringly elaborate pages are a feast for the eyes on every page. He devotes a section of the story to simply text to highlight a character's most troubled inner monolog, and yet somehow he manages to do so in a way that leaves the story no less bereft.
The story (and vast interconnecting stories) are no less impressive, wedding perfectly with the elaborate and intricate artwork. As mentioned in the description, the book does draw upon stories from the Bible and the Koran, but they run concurrent with the story in a relevant way. I'd hesitate to call this book a ally in the fight against Islamophobia (are bigots' minds really going to be changed by reading a graphic novel, even a gripping masterpiece of one?), but it certainly deserves mention for highlighting the poetry of the Arabic language, quietly pointing out the close relationship between Christianity and Islam, and creating memorable, relatable characters whose spiritual quests happen to be Islamic.
But the book isn't didactic to any one faith over the other. It has a beautiful, poignant ending, but not any one specific moral message, let alone in a heavy-handed fashion.
For most graphic novelists and for the medium as a whole, the most revered works (or holy grail, if you will) have almost entirely been memoirs: Persepolis, Maus, Funhome... even the highest praise for the author so far has perhaps been his own memoir, Blankets. But a bigger place must be made now for fiction as this book is quite easily the equal of any we've thus far held up as the premium standard.
This book is a must-read not only for graphic novel fans of all levels of passion (from the casually interested/relative newbie to the seasoned devotee), it's a must for anyone interested in the more narrow topics the book covers (Islam, Christianity, the relationship between the two, ecology, particularly ecofeminism). It's hard for me to recommend this book enough, so I will end this with just a fervent hope that this book gets the accolades and recognition it so richly deserves.
Notable: While I assumed the book was placed in a dystopian future, the author apparently set it in the present. It generally takes place in a fairytale (think Aladdin but more lush and detailed) landscape in which modernity (cars, electricity) can seem out of place (as I think was the author's goal: generally, we're seeing such things as garbage destroying a landscape or decorating a villain). During one such scene when a character surveys a desiccated landscape and tucked within but clearly visible is a McDonald's french fry package. Given McDonald's repeated appearances in Blankets, I'm tempted to wonder about this as a larger artistic statement.