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readandchill23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault and Colonisation
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, War, and Deportation
Minor: Sexism
stellenelcielo's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and Deportation
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Abortion
geoalice23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
illustrativemisfit's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Well written. Great storytelling. maybe if i was in a better place mentally i could have finished it.skb163's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Abortion, and Alcohol
lizziaha's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Ableism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
shieldbearer's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Infertility, Antisemitism, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Outing
vanessamariebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Ableism, Dementia, Outing, and Cultural appropriation
brynalexa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, and Dementia
dragongirl271's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
This book is phenomenal. It's absolutely fantastic in so many ways and I've been putting off this review for over a week because I simply cannot come up with the words that can do it justice.
This is the fictional story of Nahr, a Palestinian woman imprisoned by Israel for her part in the resistance against Israeli settlers. She's in a solitary confinement cell called The Cube with her only human interaction being guards and reporters. After finally getting access to pen and paper, she spends her time writing out her life story, which are the narrative flashbacks that make up the book.
Nahr's tale is one of love, loss, desperation, resiliency, radicalization, resistance, and survival. Her story and her relationships are complicated and messy. An entire book could be written just analyzing her relationship to Um Baraq, who throughout the book plays villain and best friend and savior and confidante. There's quite a few full-circle moments in her relationships that just elevate the storytelling of the novel. Abulhawa is so good at working out all the complexities in a character that make them feel so real and human. I've thought about this book every day since I first started reading it and, were it not for the #JanuaryPagesChallenge, probably would've taken a week or two off from even attempting to read another book to simply just let it sit with me.
1st-person POV. Mixed pacing. Two timelines with the majority of the narrative in the flashbacks leading up to present day. A complicated journey of resisting oppression in many different ways.
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail