Banned/Challenged Books Double Feature

**This post originally appeared on a Banned/Challenged Books discussion board for my Children's Literature class**

Title: Habibi
Author: Craig Thompson
Genre: graphic novel, magical realism, mythology, banned or challenged book

I just finished reading Habibi and, oh my goodness, I don’t even know where to begin my review. At 672 pages, there is a lot of material and themes to process. First off, I would like to mention the positive aspects of the book: the plot is interwoven with magical realism, Islamic mythology, beautiful Islamic artwork, and intricate calligraphy (this book contains the prettiest and most ornate title page I have ever seen). Some aspects of the book that will make some readers uncomfortable are violence, rape, abuse, full frontal female nudity (and lots of it), lack of female agency, and male characters that epitomize “Western culture’s sheik stereotype of Arab men as overly sexualized, brutal, and greedy rapists” (Miller, 2016).

Habibi is told from the alternating viewpoints of Dodola and Zam who have both experienced various forms of tragedy and trauma in their young lives. Dodola’s family sold her at age 9 into marriage to ward off starvation due to drought. Her husband was a scribe and taught her to read and write. Dodola and her husband were separated after thieves broke into their house, kidnapped Dodola, and killed her husband. Dodola and Zam met at the slave market after Dodola found him abandoned and saved him from the slavers’ swords. After a daring escape through the market and sewers, they stowaway on a carpet-laden camel that’s part of a desert caravan.

Although they find sanctuary in their ship of the desert, life is still not easy for Dodola and Zam. Dodola takes care of Zam in a motherly fashion but soon learns that survival for a woman in the desert includes treating her body as a commodity. Dodola tries to shield Zam from this harsh reality but after he discovers her secret, he takes on some “breadwinning duties” to protect her. Dodola and Zam lived in their desert dwelling for nine years until Dodola was kidnapped and taken to the sultan’s palace as a prize. Dodola enters into a bargain with the sultan for her freedom, which the sultan reneges on at the last minute. Soon Dodola becomes pregnant and grief, guilt, and worry over Zam consume her during the course of her pregnancy.

While Dodola is trapped in the palace walls, Zam’s also finds survival difficult alone on the abandoned desert boat. He heads to the nearest town, lives on the streets, and barely survives on menial labor. A woman from the local hijra community takes him under her wing and introduces him to their beliefs and lifestyle: “You called me a pervert? Why? Because I cut off my manhood? I did it to give myself wholly to God. I am not a pervert. I am an ASCETIC, and my community is my monastery” (Thompson, 2011, p. 328). At first Zam believes that Nahid and the others are perverts but Zam eventually becomes a eunuch to quench his carnal desires for women; since Dodola disappeared he can’t stop thinking about her in a sexual manner. The hijras earn their money and food by visiting weddings and new mothers and yelling. Since the hijras are looked upon as freaks, the locals give them food and money to make them go away. While Nahid became a hijra for spiritual enlightenment, others become a hijra for more sensual reasons. When Ghaniyah, the biggest wage earner of the hijras, is brutally attacked and raped, Zam is coerced by the others to prostitute himself so that the whole community can survive, thus mirroring Dodola’s survival-by-prostitution. Fortunately, Zam never fulfills the role of prostitute since his first customer is a human trafficker who kidnaps Zam and sends him straight to the sultan’s palace- where Dodola is!

Once again, they escape, mirroring their first journey through the sewers which makes Dodola gravely ill due to the pollution and disease in the city’s water supply. They are taken in by Noah who “fishes” the sewers for treasures he can give to his fellow citizens. This is where the book turned weird for me. Noah started out happy-go-lucky until his water converter contraption exploded in his home and then he takes a fatalistic tone, “Our species is destined to consume itself…We’ve poisoned the earth, and we’ve poisoned ourselves” (Thompson, 2011, p. 505). Eventually, Dodola and Zam rebuild a life for themselves and save a little girl from the slave market.

I enjoyed the artistry of the book overall but there were some parts I found confusing. When the story is told from Dodola’s viewpoint, her time in the sultan’s palace is intertwined with flashbacks from her childhood, meeting Zam, and living with Zam on the boat. I felt the non-linear storytelling to be very jarring at first. I was also confused when in time this story takes place- I assumed it was before the modern era because of the sultan’s harem, but once Dodola starts walking around Wanatolia, there are cars, Pepsi signs, and people wearing a mixture of traditional Arabic garments and modern Western fashion. Also, the environmental aspect seemed to come out of nowhere and felt out of place with the rest of the themes and content of the book.

I loved the imagery of the book and I wish there was an author’s note at the back explaining some of the imagery and suggestions for further reading. There were lots of references to rivers and water in the beginning of the book when Dodola and Zam are living in the middle of the desert:

·       “From the Divine Pen fell the first drop of ink. And from a drop, a river” (p. 9)

·       “an ocean of sand” (p. 24)

·       “Once there had been a river here…meandering…a muted voice” (p.30-31)

The number 9 was mentioned repeatedly in the book but when I tried to research the significance of the number 9 in Islam and Islamic mythology, I really couldn’t find anything, so I don’t know if this has cultural significance or if the number 9 has personal meaning for the author: “Zam was twelve when we were torn apart. He was three when we met. He is 9 years younger. We spent nine years together. For nine months, someone else has grown in my womb” (Thompson, 2011, p.109).

I would reserve my recommendation for this book for mature teenagers and adults and warn them that is triggering content that some readers might find disturbing and traumatic if they have suffered past trauma themselves.

This book has earned mixed reviews which you can read at the below links. While reading Habibi did any of the concerns listed in these articles come to your mind?

Medium: https://medium.com/@ndamluji/the-spectre-of-orientalism-in-craig-thompsons-habibi-dde9d499f403

New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/books/review/habibi-written-and-illustrated-by-craig-thompson-book-review.html

The Humanist: https://thehumanist.com/arts_entertainment/books/lets-talk-banned-books-craig-thompsons-graphic-novel-habibi-powerful-problematic

Recommended Readalikes:

The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones. This Tor.com review compares this fantasy/action/adventure describes this novel as “Sherlock Holmes crossed with The Arabian Nights except Watson has a sword” and “a cross between Sinbad and Indiana Jones.”

The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson is an alternative historical fiction novel that looks at how history might have changed if the bubonic plague in 14^th century Europe had killed 99% of the European population and Middle Eastern and Asian civilizations became the superpowers in the pre-modern and modern eras.

Citations:

Charlton, B. (2011). Arabian culture myth as fantasy: an interview with debut historical fantasist Howard Jones. Retrieve from https://www.tor.com/2011/02/18/howard-jones-interview/

Creswell. R. (2011). The graphic novel as orientalist mash-up. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/books/review/habibi-written-and-illustrated-by-craig-thompson-book-review.html

Damluji, N. (2017). The spectre of orientalism in Craig Thompson’s Habibi. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@ndamluji/the-spectre-of-orientalism-in-craig-thompsons-habibi-dde9d499f403

Jones, H.A. (2011). The desert of souls. New York: Thomas Dunne Books.

Miller, M. (2016). Let’s talk about banned books: Craig Thompson’s graphic novel Habibi is powerful and problematic. Retrieved from  https://thehumanist.com/arts_entertainment/books/lets-talk-banned-books-craig-thompsons-graphic-novel-habibi-powerful-problematic

Robinson, K.S. (2003). The years of rice and salt. New York: Bantam Books.

Thompson, C. (2011). Habibi. New York: Pantheon.

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Genres and Themes: YA, realistic fiction, banned or challenged book, teen suicide

The second book I chose for this week was Thirteen Reasons Why; I remember this was a controversial book-to-TV adaptation when it was released on Netflix a year or two ago. I remember from various social media posts that teens seemed to love the show, but some adults thought it glorified suicide. I never watched the show since I always try to read the book first, but now that I have read the book, I don’t think suicide was glorified at all. The book was extremely well written, I could barely put it down, so now I will have to watch the show soon and find out for myself if all the fussing was justified.

There are two protagonists with intersecting, first person narratives in this book; it sounds confusing but it’s not. The reader views Clay’s emotional suffering and thoughts along with Hannah’s even though the events affecting both of them took place at different times. Hannah’s story arc unfolded over a few years, while the reader views the world through Clay’s eyes over a few days. Clay, along with his high school, is grieving the suicide of his major crush and classmate, Hannah Baker, when a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep: 13 cassette tapes narrated by Hannah:

“I hope you’re ready, because I’m about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you’re listening to these tapes, you’re one of the reasons why….The rules are pretty simple. There are only two. Rule number one. You listen. Rule number two. You pass it on. Hopefully, neither one will be easy for you. When you’re done listening to all thirteen sides- because there are thirteen sides to every story-rewind the tapes, put them back in the box, and pass them on to whoever follows your little tale” (Asher, 2007, p. 8-10).

So, who contributed to Hannah’s death?

Justin Foley- Hannah’s first kiss although Justin started rumors that lied and exaggerated what really happened between them. (And that’s when Hannah’s reputation problem began. Once Clay heard the truth about the kiss and the aftermath, he realized, “Her reputation started in Justin Foley’s imagination” (Asher, 2007, p. 39).

Alex Standall- voted Hannah “Best Ass in Freshman Class.” Of course, this did not help Hannah’s reputation and certain male classmates felt the need to capitalize on this. “Every single event documented here may never have happened had you, Alex, not written my name on that list. It’s that simple. You needed someone to put down opposite Jessica’s. And once everyone at school already had a perverted image of me after Justin’s little number, I was the perfect choice, wasn’t I?” (Asher, 2007, p. 41).

Jessica Davis- Hannah started her freshman year hanging out with Jessica and the above-mentioned Alex. All three of them were freshmen and new to the town. But Alex ruined it with his “special” list and it drove a wedge between Hannah and Jessica because of the “Hot/Not” designation.

Tyler Down- peeping Tom. Hannah and Courtney Crimsen caught him hanging outside of Hannah’s bedroom window, taking photographs, and participating in certain other activities.

Courtney Crimsen- Hannah’s fairweather friend. She helped Hannah with the Peeping Tom issue and then ignored Hannah for weeks. Courtney has a reputation for being “perfect” but Hannah saw through Courtney’s façade pretty quickly.

Marcus Pooley- asks Hannah out on an ice cream date and then shows up 30 minutes late because he viewed it as a joke. Marcus then proceeds to try and feel up Hannah’s leg.

Zach Dempsey- awkwardly attempts to ask her out immediately after Hannah pushes away Marcus (Zach, seriously needs to work on his timing). He steals notes from Hannah’s paper bag in their Peer Communication class. “It’s there that I first started to consider…a word that I still cannot say” (Asher, 2007, p.161). “My world was collapsing. I needed those notes. I needed any hope those notes might have offered…You took that hope away. You decided I didn’t serve to have it” (Asher, 2007, p.165).

Ryan Shaver- editor of the school’s newspaper. He stole Hannah’s most personal poem and published it in the school paper. “School hadn’t been a safe haven of mine for a long time. And after your photo escapade, Tyler, my home was no longer secure. Now, suddenly, even my own thoughts were being offered up for ridicule” (Asher, 2007, p. 192).

Clay Jensen- Clay is the only person on this list that was kind to Hannah and treated her like a human being. Hannah’s quote about his reputation shows how his reputation amongst their peers was in complete opposition to her reputation: “Most of what I knew was secondhand information and that’s why I wanted to know him better. Because everything I heard- and I mean everything!- was good” (Asher, 2007, p. 198). Hannah and Clay talk for hours at a party, share a kiss, but the events mentioned above prevented Hannah from enjoying the moment with Clay.

Justin Foley (again): While Hannah was hiding in a bedroom at the party, she hides in a closet and is an auditory witness to a rape of an unconscious girl by one of Justin’s friends.

Jenny Kurtz- cheerleader who drives Hannah home from the party or attempts to before her drunken driving takes out a stop sign. Hannah tries to stop Jenny from driving but is unsuccessful. This unreported crash ends in tragedy later that night in a two-vehicle crash where a high school student is killed, and an elderly man injured. Hannah feels tons of guilt for not attempting to do more to stop the rape and not reporting the stop sign accident right away.

Bryce Walker- has a reputation as a player and abusive to his many girlfriends. He’s on Hannah’s list because of an incident involving a hot tube (this scene might be upsetting and triggering for some people).

Mr. Porter- school guidance counselor. Hannah goes to him for help about life and Mr. Porter totally screws it up. Encourages Hannah to “let go” of the fact she was a witness to a crime (this part exasperated me the most in the book).

All of these incidents had a snowball effect on Hannah’s mental and emotional health. Since her parents were busy with business drama and she had no real friends in this new town, she had no one to turn to for help. This book also showed how people, events, and actions are interconnected and that rumors and gossip regarding sexual issues and women is usually negative, while men benefit from rumors and gossip about their sexual escapades. There were a few times when Hannah accused someone of “taking hope away,” “taking my reputation away,” and “you decided I didn’t deserve it” which points to underlying themes of power and harassment.

Hannah tried asking for help through an anonymous note that served as a class discussion prompt, but that proved fruitless too. Suicide is still a taboo topic in our society and researchers still haven’t defined a single cause of suicide. Of course, it doesn’t help when someone’s suicidal signs or tendencies are dismissed as attention-seeking behavior. No, it’s a silent cry for help!

Some notable quotes from the text:

“When you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it” (p. 53). (This needs to be plastered all over social media!)

“For the longest time, from almost day one at this school, it seemed that I was the only one who cared about me” (p. 144). Clay tried to help her in his limited way, but Hannah pushed him away.

“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people” (p.156).

Before I list my book recommendations, I want to list the two most important resources of this post: the phone numbers for the Georgia and national suicide prevention hotlines:

Georgia Crisis and Access Line: 1-800-715-4225

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

I found this interesting article while researching the hotline numbers:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/10/suicide-hotline-national-suicide-prevention-lifeline-what-happens-when-you-call/966151002/

Readalikes (descriptions provided by Epic Reads):

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

“The Last Time We Say Goodbye follows the story of those left behind when a loved one commits suicide. This is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story  of love, loss, and letting go.
The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn’t look at her like she might break down at any moment.
Now she’s just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that’s all she’ll ever be.
As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there’s a secret she hasn’t told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.Lex’s brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn’t have to be real to keep you from moving on.”

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

“A remarkably moving tale about the unexpected road to happiness. Like 13 Reasons Why, this story explores suicide and the importance of mental health.
Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life – which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.
Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.”

Citations:

Asher, J. (2007). Thirteen reasons why. New York: Penguin.

Dastagir, Alia E. (2018). What actually happens when you call the suicide prevention lifeline. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/10/suicide-hotline-national-suicide-prevention-lifeline-what-happens-when-you-call/966151002/

Epic Reads (2017). 13 YA books to read if you loved Thirteen Reasons Why. Retrieved from https://www.epicreads.com/blog/books-read-after-13-reasons-why/

Hand, C. (2015). The last time we say goodbye. New York: HarperTeen.

Vizzini, N. (2007). It’s kind of a funny story. New York: Disney-Hyperion.