Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Against the Loveless World

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

143 reviews

vumalilli's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My heart is on the floor.

Content Warnings

abidoodle's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story that so delicately weaves stories of resistance with storytelling AS resistance. This book highlights how when you are part of a people trying to be erased, living and telling your story is an act of resistance. To be resilient and defiant is an act of resistance, and Nahr is all of those things. To love and to find beauty is a form of resistance, and we see that in her story, even in the brutal violence she experience. It’s definitely difficult to read and dives into sexual harassment in violence pretty explicitly, just as a CW, but every aspect of this story I’d important and a part of Nahr’s intricately woven narrative that makes her who she is. I really liked this book and the complexity and humanization it brings to Palestinians - those forced out of their land and those remaining living under a brutal apartheid in it. It brings complexity to being an Arab woman and the cultural strength and challenges that come with that. Highly recommend!

Content Warnings

andrea_lissette's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.75

Content Warnings

stellenelcielo's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

First book finished for 2025.

This book was beautifully written, although jarring in the particular themes it included, such as: Trafficking/Prostitution, Sexual Assault, Solitary Confinement

The story follows a character, Nahr, as she recalls her life while spending 16 years in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison. From her childhood, born of Palestinian refugees in Kuwait after the 1967 war, to then Jordan after the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait was overcome, to Palestine before the 2nd Intifada.

I really liked that it maintained a feminist theme to it. Characters like Nahr are a joy, she constantly advocates for herself, and is entertainingly snippy when she’s insulted. Her sense of humour is pretty sly, and she’s written realistically, in that she still has moments of introspection that doesn’t paint her in the best light, which she acknowledges and moves on to try and do better.

The events of her life, from a failure of her marriage, to being tricked and blackmailed into prostitution, to returning to Palestine and finding love there, drawn into acting against the occupation. It’s genuinely a powerful novel that broke my heart a few times. Definitely recommend.

Content Warnings