The Dissident Club

Chronicle of a Pakistani Journalist in Exile

Taha Siddiqui, Hubert Maury, David Homel

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English

Arsenal Pulp Press
01 March 2025

Graphic novels: true stories & non-fiction

An urgent and compelling graphic memoir about a Pakistani investigative journalist at odds with his fundamentalist family and the Pakistani military that attempts to kidnap him

In Islamabad in 2018, Pakistani investigative journalist Taha Siddiqui is kidnapped at gunpoint and barely escapes being killed. He flees the country on the first plane to France with questions left unanswered: What motivated the attack? Was the tyrannical Pakistani military involved?

The Dissident Club is an action-packed graphic memoir about Islamic politics, complex family dynamics, and one man's dedication to truth and principle. With illustrator Hubert Maury, Siddiqui, winner of the prestigious journalism award Prix Albert Londres, tells the story of his intriguing life and career, beginning with his childhood in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under the stern gaze of a fundamentalist Islamic father. Siddiqui rebels against his religion, but his personal freedom is constrained by strict Islam, especially after his father joins a jihadi mosque.

Following the Gulf War and then the shock caused by 9/11, Siddiqui enters university and begins his personal emancipation. He becomes a journalist, but as he reveals the crimes of the Pakistani military, he learns the hard way that journalists are moving targets. Once in Paris, he opens the Dissident Club, a bar dedicated to helping political dissidents from around the world.

An expansive Pakistani coming-of-age story, The Dissident Club documents Siddiqui's experiences as a young man fighting for truth and justice against the harsh backdrop of Islamic fundamentalism and corruption.

By: Taha Siddiqui
Illustrated by: Hubert Maury
Translated by: David Homel
Imprint: Arsenal Pulp Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 288mm, Width: 210mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 907g
ISBN: 9781551529530
ISBN 10: 155152953X
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 01 March 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Taha Siddiqui is an award-winning Pakistani journalist living in exile in Paris. In Pakistan, Taha worked for the New York Times, The Guardian, France 24, Arte, the Christian Science Monitor, Al Jazeera, and many other international and local media organisations. Hubert Maury is an artist and writer of graphic novels. The Dissident Club is his first graphic work to be published in English.

Reviews for The Dissident Club: Chronicle of a Pakistani Journalist in Exile

""Siddiqui chronicles his eventful life story in a fast-paced graphic memoir that jumps from the author's early years in Jeddah to his journey of becoming a prominent journalist in Pakistan who is critical of the Islamic republic's oppressive military rule."" --Kirkus Reviews (STARRED) ""It would be an understatement to say that Siddiqui's story must be told ... This graphic memoir is on a particular mission, and it succeeds. Siddiqui lays it all out: his upbringing; his rise as a journalist; and his ultimate experience in the never-ending fight of calling out truth to power. Maury's artwork adds a wonderful emotional layer with his masterful facial expressions and body language."" --The Comics Journal ""This beautifully illustrated and evocative book is more than an account of Siddiqui's political resistance: It is also a deeply felt reflection on his childhood and a potent critique of fundamentalist religious viewpoints and restrictions ... The Dissident Club [zeroes] in on religious hypocrisy, the War on Terror, the uses and misuses of propaganda, and the ways many government officials promote repressive policies for personal, financial, and professional gain. It's a powerful indictment and an ode to free expression."" ―NewPages