Today I’m featuring Habibi by Craig Thompson, which was published in 2011. This isn’t Thompson’s first attempt as a graphic novelist (we also have Thompson’s graphic novel Blankets), but this is probably his longest and most detailed work to date. At 655 pages, it’s definitely long, but it goes by so fast. Thompson does a great job at creating beautiful characters that you care about. In addition, he creates incredibly detailed illustrations. Just look at the image above?! You could almost read the book without words (if that were possible).
In Habibi, we follow two orphaned slave children named Dodola and Zam. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that this book should come with some sort of disclaimer. Habibi is not for children and addresses issues that would make adults uncomfortable. And although it covers many issues, sex is a main topic. The amount of research that Thompson put into making the book really shows and really makes the story something special. That being said, I highly recommend the novel.
I wish I could have found a book trailer for Habibi, but I don’t think there is one. If you’d like to go to the website, you can find it at http://www.habibibook.com/.