Reviews tagging 'Death'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

98 reviews

abeilleabbie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

shieldbearer's review against another edition

This book was beautifully written but it didn't grab me the way "Mornings in Jenin" did. There is a lot of heavy, nuanced plotting here, but there are also several ways the plotting falls short, When looked at as a work of fiction, this simply does not do it for me. Part of it is that I can't get invested in the romance. A similar work that I preferred a lot is "Minor Detail"

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Favorite of the year. Highly recommend, especially for bookclubs or High School English classes. My thoughts here: https://www.youtube.com/live/jHkbo3kEbbg?si=AQwDiPhqLPCpTQey

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Content Warnings

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

mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

was hooked immediately!! i was doubtful if i would like it looking at the first page but it had an intriguing start with the MC which told me this character was going to be interesting. i loved how easy, smooth, and digestible it was to read - these are my favorites. i finished in 2 days, was reading until i couldn’t stay awake anymore. i would love a second book that continued the story but now i see why it’s not necessary as the ending showed the reality of her life.

touches on the occupation, resistance, romance, friendship, family, patriarchy, grief, and, undoubtedly, much more. had some really great quotes. learned more about the occupation of Palestine. 

i loved how bold the MC was and the life she lived. it made for a very interesting journey. idk why this is marked as slow-paced, it’s definitely medium and maybe even fast! (edit: submitted ticket to change to medium-paced) i found myself referring to the glossary often when needed, it’s interesting to learn. lots of stuff packed in made it worthwhile. 

the physical book format also helped in the smoothness - good page feel and font styling. love the cover too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Abortion

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Soulful. A bit clunky in places and I'm still not sure the main character is as likeable as others seem to think. Though, given the current climate, I can see why this book has garnered the acclaim it has.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Genocide

Moderate: Rape and Sexism

Minor: Torture

mia_difelice's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

nahr, a Palestinian woman, has been kept for years in solitary confinement in a high-tech Israeli prison called the Cube. she tells her story from prison. 

 

born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugees, nahr's life takes her from the mansions of Kuwaiti businessmen, to the bustling streets of Amman, to her mother's hometown in Palestine. there, she falls in love not only with the love of her life, but with Palestine itself. 

 

this is an unflinching, unapologetic book that brings understanding to perspectives we don't hear, almost at all, in united states. on top of that, it is beautifully written in a simple, gripping voice--nahr's voice. her conversational tone obscures some of her surroundings but also brings out the poetry and her character more strongly. 

 

against the loveless world details the big and small violences of occupation, as well as big and small strategies for resistance. it's also a love story; a terribly bittersweet one that will stay with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, and Colonisation

Minor: Torture

brynalexa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

A powerful journey. Perfectly paced and gripping. 

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Content Warnings

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

nenaveenstra's review against another edition

dark informative reflective 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? No

3.5

 I’m struggling to write this review. Obviously this book is very well-loved, which is in part of why I read it - the other reason why I picked it up is because I wanted to learn more about the Israel-Palestina situation, and it definitely achieved that. But I found myself feeling bored, having to force myself to pick the book back up whenever I had put it down. I am relieved now that it’s finished and get to move on to something else. 

Part of the reason why is the writing style. It is often very matter-of-fact, and filled with a lot of dialogue. I was confused about the timeline, and it was like the narrator was floating above the characters, observing the situation from afar rather than living - and feeling - it, which is weird, because Nahr is our narrator, and she has supposedly lived it all. As a result, I found it hard to distinguish the characters from each other - I had to consciously label them in my head as ‘the brother’, ‘the pimp’, ‘the wife of …’, etc. - and to empathize with them. 

I could sympathize, though, as Nahr obviously lives through very messed up situations. I think this book succeeded in teaching us about Muslim culture and the hardships Palestinians have to endure time and time again, treated as an impostor, even in their own country. It might not have hit me emotionally as much as I had hoped, but I still think people should read it, if only to understand why we should call for a ceasefire. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Death and War

Minor: Child death

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was so beautifully written. It was historical fiction that also felt so relevant to today. It helped me understand more about the Palestinian history and experience. Nahr's story is so raw and heartbreaking and her strength and resistance was moving. The author uses such powerful imagery and explores the complexities of people in creating characters with so much depth. Most of the time, making them neither good, nor bad, simple human. I will probably be thinking about this book for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Cancer

pagelikebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail