The epic of Gabriel and Jibreel: A cautionary tale of ultimate friendship

Marin

Dec 2019 · Fontreal

About this ebook

The Epic of Gabriel and Jibreel is a cautionary tale of the ultimate friendship. It is a heartbreaking story of two boys, a refugee and a child from a wealthy suburb. Gabriel lives with his father in a large house surrounded by other large houses. One day, while exploring the beach, Gabriel meets Jibreel. Jibreel lives with his father in the upside down boat that brought them across the sea. With similar stories of devastating loss, yet joyful dreams and a love for flying, the boys form an incredible and indestructible friendship. This is a heartbreaking story – a children’s picture book with a powerful message that is worth hearing. 

Ratings and reviews

The Epic of Gabriel and Jibreel, by Marin Darmonkow, is a children illustrated book filled with deep themes, hidden by the genre of the book. It narrates the story of two children Gabriel and Jibreel, who can’t be friends as one is a refugee, whereas the other one is a normal child living there, whose father is xenophobic. Darmonkow uses vivid colors in the illustrations and makes them as realistic as possible, making it appealing to children while giving a hint that it refers to situations that happen in our world, giving readers a connection with reality. Furthermore, I appreciated the choice of the boys’ names as both Gabriel and Jibreel are two angels but belonging to two different religions and cultures. This contrast and the friendship between them represent the clash of culture that we find whenever a refugee meets a native and vice versa. The Epic of Gabriel and Jibreel, by Marin Darmonkow is a quick read, but takes on important and actual themes, so I would recommend it to both children and adults. Furthermore, the plot reminded me of the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyle, which deals with similarly deep themes. This is a thought-provoking children’s book exploring friendship, with provocative commentary on society and detailed imagery that readers will spend plenty of time looking at and appreciating.

About the author

Long time ago Marin was a child. He was one year old when his father passed away. His mother remarried and Marin was raised by his loving (but strict!) grandparents. He learned to read and write long before he went to school. Books became his imaginary parents and his fictional friends.

Marin studied nuclear physics, art, and literature. He owned an advertising agency for many years.

Oh, a few more things: he does not drive, he does not drink carbonated beverages, he had never consumed food from fast food restaurants, he does not have a mobile phone, he had never used legal or illegal drugs, and he had never visited his GP (much to the disapproval of his wife).He started his small publishing house FONTREAL in 2016. Marin lives with his family on the beach of the Atlantic Ocean - in St. John’s, NL, Canada.