Shubeik Lubeik

by Mohamed, Deena

• ISBN13: 9781524748418
• ISBN10: 1524748412
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781524748425
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2023-01-10
• Publisher: Pantheon
• More Book Details

Summary

• Winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation •Eisner Award Nominee • Hugo Award Nominee

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.
• A Best Book of the Year: The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR

“The mythic qualities of Mohamed’s world bring our own world into sharper focus . . . Mohamed’s humor often feels like a protest, as do the thick and assertive lines of her drawings . . . The effect is gritty, brazen, and full of spunk.”—The New Yorker

Three wishes that are sold at an unassuming kiosk in Cairo link Aziza, Nour, and Shokry, changing their perspectives as well as their lives. Aziza learned early that life can be hard, but when she loses her husband and manages to procure a wish, she finds herself fighting bureau­cracy and inequality for the right to have—and make—that wish. Nour is a privileged college student who secretly struggles with depression and must decide whether or not to use their wish to try to “fix” this depression, and then figure out how to do it. And, finally, Shokry must grapple with his religious convictions as he decides how to help a friend who doesn’t want to use their wish. Deena Mohamed brings to life a cast of characters whose struggles and triumphs are heartbreaking, inspiring, and deeply resonant.

Although their stories are fantastical—featuring talking donkeys, dragons, and cars that can magically avoid traffic—each of these people grapples with the very real challenge of trying to make their most deeply held desires come true.

Author Biography

DEENA MOHAMED is an Egyptian designer and illustrator. She first began making comics at eighteen when she created the viral webcomic strip “Qahera.” The comic addressed social issues and starred a visibly Muslim Egyptian super-heroine. It was featured in multiple local and international outlets such as the BBC, Foreign Policy, The Times, Al Arabiya, and others.  In 2017 Deena was named by the The Washington Post as one of “five women changing the world for the better” on the occasion of International Women’s Day.