(No plot summary here, just my thoughts.)

I don't know. This book was exciting to start, but the further and deeper I got into it, I felt confused and uncomfortable. Honestly, the academic side of me feels as if I should reread parts of this to understand it more thematically, but I kind of...just...don't...want to. I'm over this.
I try to keep an open mind in my reviews, however, in this one I'm just going to say this flat out:
I didn't like it. That statement isn't based on the art/plot/character/etc, but in the same way someone might say they don't like a certain food. "Habibi" just wasn't for me.

First of all, this book is 80% drawings of boobs. And that's not to say that *boobs* are the problem-not at all! The problem is there just seems to be little or no purpose to having so many of them drawn in so many ways on SO. MANY. PAGES. Literally every other page there are boobs and the main character herself is topless for most of the book. The boobs don't drive the plot forwards at all- they are largely there for the sexualization of the women characters. Again, I don't have a problem with the nudity, but there needs to be a purpose for it, especially in a graphic novel where most of the reading is visual.
One of the major themes of this book is sex and sexuality- Dodola, the main female character, is sold and raped at a young age. She sleeps with passing men in exchange for food and water. She is later part of a sultan's harem. She is raped again. And although this is part of the story, all of it begins to feel very uneasily sexualized, almost lingered upon simply for the sake of the visual. [I just saw another review where someone called it very voyeuristic, and that's eerily correct. I agree.] I don't think there was a single female character in here that wasn't abused/naked/miserable for all of their arc.
The male main character, Zam, also has a storyline that leans heavily on sex/sexuality, and where that thread went just seemed to ramble on and not add up to much. There are people he encounters who he is told to stay away from because they are "whores", and these characters suffer the brunt of the abuse in that plot. It just began to feel uncomfortable, and not in a way that books are supposed to sometimes feel uncomfortable.
As a reader and a writer, I know not every story is going to be happy or feel-good. Life has uncomfortable moments and books reflect life. "Habibi" isn't meant to be a happy-go-lucky novel. But it really evoked a strong sense of unease- I felt as if I had to tell myself "It's okay, it's just fiction, keep reading" for parts of this. But fiction has a strong impact, and it lingers with you, and this wasn't a story I cared to really remember.

Moving on: the setting/world was so CONFUSING. Everything is built up in a world that feels very Middle Easter, almost Biblical, and then WHAM! There's a Jeep?? And people wearing sunglasses?? And dump trucks?? Oh, but wait, now we're back to camels and tunics and clay jars of water? Oh wait- now there's a FREAKIN PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE COMPANY??!?
I gave up on trying to understand if this was supposed to be a fictional world or a blending of a urban/desert Middle Eastern city. The geography made no sense. The world was confusing.

Also, some of the side characters and scenes were just gross. This is a very biased thing, but they just made me feel sick. The fisherman character, Noah, in the later parts was just incredibly creepy to me. His mental state was really disturbing and I almost stopped reading. It's not a dramatic part of the book, I just simply didn't like it. Same for the short little man in the harem, most of the eunchs, and nearly every main male character.

I think the strongest part of "Habibi" was the art style itself- there were some lovely pages, mostly when Dodola was telling Bible stories or parts of the Quaran. There's a delicate intricacy to the pages that is atmospheric and luring. The artwork is really what's getting most of that second star rating.

Read this if you want. It has a couple small nice moments. The art is good. But it's just not the greatest graphic novel out there. ( )

I read this book as I was searching for banned comics. The book is really a work of art, showing us the situation of women in the present world. Women are sold as slaves, and people are indifferent. Some of the graphics were very violent. But still, it has depth and compels us to think about how we can make our kind better. People should understand each other. Dodola’s character is that of a strong woman who fights for her existence. Zam’s story was also a shocking one. Although the book is on the violent side, it still has an appeal. I liked the storyline, especially the climax. Definitely, 5 stars for the book. ( )

"Habibi", la novela gráfica de Craig Thompson, merece sin duda una calificación de 5/5. Esta obra no solo destaca por su impresionante arte, sino también por la cautivadora historia que presenta. ( )

Honestly, Habibi just jumped into the rarefied air that is my top 10 favorite graphic novels. Wonderfully complex characters, subtext that is thought provoking without being preachy, and of course mind blowing art made this a masterpiece!

Eagerly looking forward to seeing which subjects Craig Thompson tackles next! ( )

Really well written, exquisitely drawn, but *so* *much* violence, especially sexual. Racist caricatures that are sometimes problematized and sometimes... not. Rushed through because I wanted to be done with it. Idk.

EDIT: Ok, probably the best way to sum up sexuality in this book is that we get multiple explicit rape scenes (maybe more than a dozen? I'm not going to go back and count), and also Thompson refuses to show Zam's genitalia in the big reveal and discussion of his eunuch status towards the end. How revealing of what he finds unspeakably horrifying violence....

Hard to rate because of how mixed the experience is. I wish Thompson had gotten some outside feedback before he spent 6 years on this mess.

Physical book status: gave it away to the library booksale, because I'm sure as hell not reading this again.