Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

163 reviews

vumalilli's review against another edition

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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. 
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abidoodle's review against another edition

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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! 
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kshertz's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Wow this was a beautiful novel. It feels so real I kept having to remind myself it’s not an actual memoir. But it feels that way. The mix of actual history with this fictional life is just so phenomenally done. I learned so much about Palestinian history through this amazing protagonist and I think everyone would benefit from witnessing and reading this story 
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readandchill23's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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teastained's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was both heartbreaking and phenomenal. A story of a Palestinian refuge and her experiences as she comes of age, and does what she has to in order to find her footing in an unstable world in the face of political turmoil, revolutions, and being both with and without a nation. I loved her and I loved this book. It was so rich. 
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chronicallykb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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kelseyvsy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was so easy to devour, but so hard to read. What a beautiful and important book. 
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stellenelcielo's review against another edition

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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.
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noneisntoff's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad 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

Absolutely unbelievable how beautiful and poetic this book is. Everyone should read this to better understand the Palestinian experience. 
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reb_knits's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

4.5

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