Restless

by Joseph Kai

What would life feel like without fear and oppression? Is it possible to find solace in the power of chosen family, underground art collectives, and ultimately revolution?

Set in Beirut, Lebanon, a city once known to be a vibrant cultural center of the region. It's 30 years after the end of the civil war, and a few months before the disastrous explosion of August 2020. Samar, a young queer comic book artist, wanders between anguished dreams, childhood memories, romantic experiences, and Beirut’s alternative communities. This abstractly autobiographical story tells of the author's anxiety over living in a complex city of changing colors and moods. Three powerful themes: art, sex, and political uprising, are interwoven in a compelling narrative and an otherworldly color palette.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Queer, Comics, LGBT, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2023

About the author

Joseph Kai is a Lebanese comics author currently living in Paris, exploring the realms of realistic and speculative fiction. Joseph’s debut graphic novel L’Intranquille (Casterman, 2021) got recently released in English by Street Noise Books (US) under the title Restless. It delves into the anxious behaviour, sexual desires and dreams of Samar, a queer artist living in Lebanon during one of the country's most tumultuous periods in history. In 2010, Joseph Kai became a contributing member of Samandal, publishing several short works and later taking on the role of editor in chief for Geography in 2015, 3000 in 2020 and Cutes, a collection of queer and trans* comics in 2023. Joseph has participated in numerous festivals and exhibitions around the world, most recently Les Révolutions de l'Amour at L'Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and his first solo exhibition titled I Never Asked to Be So Sad and So Sexy at TWXS in Brussels.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: What would life feel like without fear and oppression? Is it possible to find solace in the power of chosen family, underground art collectives, and ultimately revolution?

Set in Beirut, Lebanon, a city once known to be a vibrant cultural center of the region. It's 30 years after the end of the civil war, and a few months before the disastrous explosion of August 2020. Samar, a young queer comic book artist, wanders between anguished dreams, childhood memories, romantic experiences, and Beirut’s alternative communities. This abstractly autobiographical story tells of the author's anxiety over living in a complex city of changing colors and moods. Three powerful themes: art, sex, and political uprising, are interwoven in a compelling narrative and an otherworldly color palette.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Definitely for your older, out, college-age gay nephew or grandson. This is truly a heartwrenching story of being Other in a collapsing world of people stoked on rage and outrage. We begin with a dream sequence:




...that sets the tone of menace, in a place of not-quite reality, that I think every gay lad has experienced to some level. The story goes into the sadness and misery of feeling without a home, without anyone to call your own in a world that doesn't care at best, hates you for being you at worst.

The author/artist is a gay man from Beirut, so this is clearly autobiographical to some degree. It feels like he has lived these moments of passion, of fear, of loneliness. He is offering us his roadmap from a life at war, external and internal, to his present place of creative and engaged safety.

This being real life depicted in art, it isn't sugar-glazed:

...even when people are part of the life we make for ourselves, conflict continues, within us and among us. Every part of this message is worth delivering to your just-barely-fledged gay giftee as he starts reckoning with his complicated past, his unfolding present, his unknowable future.

[Léon · Rating 5 out of 5]

autant sensible que violent, mais incroyablement beau
TW agression sexuelle tho

[Cucuchette · Rating 4 out of 5]

un très beau roman graphique qui raconte la construction de son identité en tant qu'artiste queer dans un environnement hostile où la violence est institutionnelle.

le dessin en lui même est très intelligent selon moi. le choix des couleurs douces et réconfortantes contraste très bien avec le sentiment d'intranquilité présent tout au long du livre.

j'aime aussi la mention de vraies œuvres d'art, et de vrais événements. les personnages n'existent peut être pas dans la vie réelle mais cette histoire n'a pourtant rien de fictif. les choses ne sont ni exagérées ni diminuées, c'est la vérité quotidienne de toute une communauté.

[Raven Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a quick but not easy read. Things are a bit abstract, surreal and very introspective. The reality of the times versus the dreams and fears Kai's character unfolds in a bumpy path. The art is either a like or not, really little to no in-between. There are possible triggers with nudity, violence, sexual situations, and GLBTQ issues.

[Jacopo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important narrative to voice - a real revolution through literature. Aesthetically beautiful.

[Taylor Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrenching. Beautiful.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sometimes we feel the need to look at ourselves from afar. Like through a surveillance camera, to observe our existence through a narrator in a voice-over who recounts the history of Little Red Riding Hood running from certain death.”

[Charline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les dessins sont ultra beaux, les couleurs sont incroyables et l'histoire est vraiment poignante entre l'espoir et la lutte. Very very queer, on adore.

[spoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit annoyed by some of the phrasing of the dialogue (using "girlfriend" as gay slang??? this isn't set the USA in the 80s) and was going to excuse it b/c maybe they do talk like that but then I realized this was translated from French. 1) Put the translator on the cover; that's so annoying 2) yeah the word choice is not great and that's partly fault of the translator

Overall -- should be two stars but I have a soft spot for male nudity and explicit sex worked into a comics plot. Not that this is great -- super super censored. And the commentary on it being censored is like.... whatever. You can draw censored stuff too that is good but sometimes stuff feels like it wanted to be uncensored but is censored. That's kinda this.

Also does the annoying thing where there's a big picture conflict / war where there's obvi a good side and obvs a bad side, but then everyone who supports the good side is basically morally right, right through their entire lives. What interesting (and honest and true) is that people supporting good causes have confusing messy lives that don't align cleanly w #revolution (esp around pleasure) and the #revolution isn't clean to begin with.

Also - why in the sex scene (which to be fair was kinda done complexly in the way it dealt w the SA and desire and wasn't totally ironed out) was there a parallel drawn w violent protest where c*mming was visually paralleled with a tear gas grenade? Like what. Get some support for that in the story if you want to do that...

Also don't love the overexplainly caption text (e.g., "Yasmine does not step saying stupid things" (90)) and the overly righteous dialogue ("At the same time, he is a victim of ambient toxic masculinity" (132) - this is kinda word salad I'm sorry) which -- just doesn't feel like that's how people talk? Or if they do you got to couch it in something (cf. The Contradictions by Sophie Yanow) rather than present it as fact....

Some bold moves, hints of the real feeling and conflict that motivated this, but overall it doesn't achieve the potential it hints at as an art piece.

[Ren Parks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to preface this review by saying that I don't think I'm the intended audience. This feels, to my limited knowledge, like a testimony given with the intent of being understood by others who have had similar experiences. As someone from the US, a comparatively stable country where it's far safer to be queer, I don't have the situational knowledge I feel would make this book as meaningful to me as it possibly could be.

That being said! The back-and-forth between sexual, emotional, and physical violence was masterfully done. There's something so uniquely and universally queer about this kind of fatalism. It reminded me of CAConrad's "Glitter in My Wounds": "heterosexuals need to see our suffering / the violent deaths of our friends and lovers / to know glitter on a queer is not to dazzle but to / unsettle the foundation of this murderous culture / defiant weeds smashing up through cement."

While the visuals were rending, I do feel there was something lost in the translation of the text. A lot of the dialogue felt flat, uncharacterized, expository, or over-explanatory. There was an entire page almost dominated by the text of a few people arguing about the validity of trans performance art that felt like it went on far longer than an actual conversation on such a topic would. It could be, perhaps, that my privilege in growing up in a country that recognizes the humanity of queer people (to some extent) has made me far too blasé about such issues. Maybe using uncharacterized dialogue is simply a necessary vehicle for thrusting these issues into the forefront where otherwise they might go ignored - even if it doesn't make for very glittery prose.

Overall, I'm happy to have read it. I'll be keeping an eye out for other translations of Kai's work.

[Joseph Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stuck in a permanent survival mode after a civil war and other tragedies, the lgbtq community continues to suffer oppression under Lebanese authorities: police crackdowns, regular societal bigotry even among those calling themselves friends, as well as internalized homophobia all rear their heads.

Not sure why, but this didn't feel that compelling. Maybe it's the fact that everyone has already internalized things and don't talk about them much in this story the lessens the impact. Perhaps I am a prude, and the representation of sexuality is boring to me. I guess the small victory at the end is hard for me to comprehend, myself living in a nation where bigotry still exists, but there is much more acceptance.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A city of flames is the concern here – flaming hot gay sex, the flames of revolution, and as we shall see the explosion in the docklands that made Beirut so newsworthy a couple of years ago. I could have hated this, and slammed it for the anti-Jewish hatespeak of the modern ultra-left. I mean, I don't normally sign on for trans dancers, drag shows and people yacking on about rioting or their love lives – or the weird juxtaposition of both that we get here, but this was not bad at all. It's not a book for me, that's for sure, but I can easily imagine the tiny milieu that this is for and for whom this will be a small modern wonder.

[Hal Schrieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous queer comic about police repression of queer nightlife, resilience and self-hatred and desire in a homophobic and transphobic society, dreams and the unconscious in an unstable country (and world), and friendships strained by differing reactions to political events. Persistent throughout this anxiety-filled story is this amazing, bright color palette and graceful linework. I love the scene of the trans artist performing her art before the club is busted. I love what works like this in translation teach me, and I think I love Lebanese comics now.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has really powerful lessons: finding community through art, unleashing sexual desire, queer liberation, resistance of an oppressive political system, and finding yourself through dreams. The art was stunning, playing with intriguing shapes throughout and making impressive use of a limited color palette.

[Olivia Blaufuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the use of color and storytelling in this novel. This is a stunning piece of artwork. It was so interesting to see a depiction of so many experiences in such a short number of pages. I enjoyed the activism, queer exploration, historical contexts, and raw emotion. I wish that it was less choppy and longer.

[Louise Jardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je ne peux pas savoir la difficulté que c’est de se construire soi-même dans un environnement d’oppression et de destruction permanente mais cette histoire m’a permis de l’imaginer. On sent que c’est une histoire vécue et sincère dans l’écriture et le développement des personnages. C’est juste, sans artifices.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un roman graphique ultra touchant.

Via des dessins oniriques et une ambiance fascinante, l’auteur absorbe la queerphobie du Liban et toutes les luttes mises en place par les minorités pour faire entendre leurs voix.

C’est beau, dévastateur et perdu entre fantasme et réalité.
Sublime !

[Jacob Brogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and colored, but tonally clumsy. Kai’s characters overexplain everything, even as the general tone remains oneirically vague. In English, at least, it is also thuddingly stiff.

[Ivy Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Restless was a surreal and captivating read. In today’s reality of war on Palestine and the attack on trans and queer bodies, this is a thoughtful and important story that was grounded in the queer experience within Lebanon’s political reality.

[Bily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*
c’est interessant le fait que les couleurs montre différentes perspectives et sentiments, l’histoire est prenante et intéressante
ca permet d’en apprendre un peu plus sur les personnes queer dans d’autres cultures et contextes
un peu trop abstrait pour moi par moment

[Soledade · Rating 4 out of 5]

C'était super !!! Les dessins étaient originaux bon appétit et c'était tres intéressant d'articuler des questions queers/ de sexualité avec la place politique des jeunes au Liban à l'échelle vraiment personnelle ouais ouais je répète bon appétit

[SamSamSam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciated this look into how folks with queer identities are impacted by revolution. Unfortunately, the translation was a bit clunky and I imagine it didn't fully capture the nuance of the original French.

[Florian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manifs, sex gay et milieu artistique alternatif à Beyrouth 30 ans après la fin de la guerre civile et quelques mois avant la catastrophe d’août 2020.

[Léa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coup de cœur pour la palette de couleur choisie. En plus d’être originale, elle se marie avec perfection au récit et lui apporte de la douceur.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got emotional reading this. Some things are hard to explain or discuss, but this book got pretty close… or at least it felt like it for someone who has not lived through these experiences.

[Nathan Bartos · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

[jam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5*

[Berslon Pank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is okay, but listless until the end. The final section with the art exhibit in the street is fantastic. Love the color throughout the book.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic queer comic, may all queer people be free 🇱🇧🇵🇸

[Mairin Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t originally write I review on this but I am now because I think about this book all the time. It’s worth coming back and saying what a beautiful story it is. Joy as resistance and pride in the face of erasure