Habibi
By (Author) Craig Thompson
Faber & Faber
Faber & Faber
1st November 2011
22nd September 2011
Main
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
741.5
Hardback
672
Width 185mm, Height 236mm, Spine 46mm
1540g
Habibi, based on a Middle Eastern fable, tells the story of Dodola, who escapes being sold into slavery and rescues an abandoned baby she names Zam. They live in isolation in an old boat in the desert. As they age their relationship shifts from mother and son, to brother and sister and eventually lovers. In the meantime however Dodola is forced to prostitute herself to desert traders in order to provide for Zam. When he seeks an alternative means of income Dodola is captured by the Sultan and Zam is forced into a quest to try and rescue her. about the environment and the state of the world. Set in the place where Christianity and Islam began, it explores the fundamental connection between these religions, and also the relationship between the first and the third world and the increasingly important battle for the earth's resources.
"This is not just an epic that sprawls from desert to harem to modern urban waste...it's a look at how the first and third worlds are divided, Islam and Christianity united, and humanity too separated from the natural world. Ambitious." -"Library Journal"
"A dense, swirling dervish of a tale...this will be the most talked about graphic novel of the fall." -"Publisher Weekly"
"A lushly epic love story that's both inspiring and heartbreaking...In addition to richly detailed story panels, the gorgeous Arabic ornamental calligraphy makes each page an individual work of art." -"Publishers Weekly," starred review
""Habibi" lifts the bar of graphic storytelling to new heights, both by the intricate, dramatic density and breathtaking scholar-ship of Thompson's panels and by the sheer scale and decorative beauty of his flowing, roiling, protean style. Thompson is the Charles Dickens of the genre, able to capture all the scary, heartbreaking, brave, uplifting details of h
Craig Thompson's previous graphic novels include Blankets (which won three 2004 Harvey Awards for Best Artist, Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and Best Cartoonist; the Prix de la critique at Angouleme; and two 2004 Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist); Goodbye, Chunky Rice; and Carnet de Voyage.