Book description
A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical alternate Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeik—a fairy tale rhyme that means “your wish is my command” in Arabic—is the story of three people who are navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale.
“The mythic…
Why read it?
1 author picked Shubeik Lubeik as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Gorgeous to behold, this graphic novel opens from the seeming-ending, because it was originally written in Arabic, which is read from right to left.
Despite mainly being in black and white, it draws the reader in, more easily than blue Will Smith, to ask deeply philosophical questions – what do people want, and why? – which turns personal – what do I want, and why? – in the back of the mind, while the brain engages with sympathetic characters Aziza, Nour, and Shokry, who fight against corruption, depression, dragons, and the patriarchy, one wish at a time.
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