arabvoices

AUTHORS

Dina Mohamed Yehia

Deena Mohamed Yehia is an Egyptian illustrator and designer. She first started making comics at eighteen, with her webcomic Qahera, about a visibly Muslim Egyptian superhero, which addresses social issues such as Islamophobia and misogyny. Her debut graphic novel Shubeik Lubeik is published in Arabic in Egypt and was awarded Best Graphic Novel and the Grand Prize of the Cairo Comix Festival (2017.) It was part of the exhibition on Contemporary Arab Comics at the Museum of Comics (Musée de la Bande Dessinée) in Angoulême. The English rights for all three parts of Shubeik Lubeik have been acquired by Pantheon Books for North America and Granta for the UK, for publication in spring 2021.

Shubeik Lubeik | Shubeik lubeik

A graphic novel trilogy set in an imagined modern Cairo, where first-class wishes are sold in bottles and third-class wishes are sold in cans, and the more expensive the wishes, the more powerful their ability to fulfill dreams. Sadly, the majority of the population can only afford the cheaper, thirdclass wishes. Shubeik Lubeik is the story of three first-class wishes and how they affect the lives of three characters trying to achieve their dreams in a wildly classist society. In the first book of the trilogy, we meet Aziza, a hard-working woman who falls in love with Abdo, who is later taken away from her. We see human loss and regret, and we understand what it means for humans to have the right to wishes. In some scenes, Yehia reminds us of Franz Kafka’s parable “Before the Law,” where the protagonist struggles against a bureaucratic system that denies him access to a better life. This is a story about perseverance, persistence, and love in a largely dystopian society.

FEATURED BOOKS

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French Clouds | Ghoyoum Faranseya

The Ways of the Lord | Turuq al-rab

The House of the Copt | Bayt al-qibteya

Shubeik Lubeik | Shubeik lubeik

Slipping | Iflat al-asabi’

The City of Endless Walls | Madinat al-hawaet alla-nehaiya

Zouba’s Theatre | Masrah Zouba