Habibi

Wow. Just... wow. This graphic novel kind of blew my mind. It's crazy - crazy rich, crazy complex, and crazy visionary. Craig Thompson is also crazy talented. And also maybe just crazy. It blasted me with so much information and impressive curlicues of style and form, that I don't think I can even really judge it in any objective way. It was just kinda overwhelming, ya know!

Um, okay... gathering my thoughts. So... um. It's set in an (unreal?) Islamic realm by a modern-looking city of Wanatolia. There's a very classical-looking and classical-behaving sultan, complete with 1,001 nights ultimatums (entertain me, or you die!), a huge harem, eunuchs, slaves, fountains, dates, and so forth. There's a village, which looks like a serious blast from the classical Arab past. There are caravans in the desert. There's a huge modern dam. Okay, it's confusing. The context is very difficult to pin down. 75% into the book, I went “ah HA! This is 19th century Istanbul!” Now I'm not so sure.

What is understandable is the central story (told, as it is, in a circuitous, rambling way with many rotations through time) of Dodola, a beautiful Persian (?) woman who is basically objectified, abused and prostituted constantly, and a young dark-skinned boy she rescues from the slave market, Zam. Dodola and Zam briefly live on a ship in the desert. Then they are split up - Dodola becoming the sultan's favorite courtesan, and Zam growing up, tortured by his sexuality and trying not to starve.

What is this book trying to say?! The narrative is constantly embellished with incredibly rich asides regarding stories from the Qur'an, Arabic calligraphy, geometry and science. At times, you think Dodola is supposed to be the archangel Gabriel. Then you think she's the Prophet. Then you think she's Noah. Then you think Zam's Noah. Then there's a long, touching substory about hijras - but wait! We're clearly not in the subcontinent (or are we? some characters sometimes wear salwar kameezes or saris). Is this an elaborate pun on hijra/Hijra?!

Anyway, ultimately, Habibi is an extensive, mystical Sufi meditation: love God/Allah, but love love first. Islam (and religion) is treated with wide-eyed reverence - though I don't think Thompson is Muslim? But the ultimate message is - I think - about how we tell stories to ourselves to make sense of the world, but ultimately we don't need those stories. And we should throw them away if they hurt us. And the guiding principle of everything is this one. And, okay, I cried.