Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

6 reviews

geoalice23's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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

autumn33344's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Torture, and War

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

nineinchnails's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

this was another heartwrenching book from abulhawa. there's something about the way she weaves a story that really draws me in. just like Mornings in Jenin this deals with some very topics, so it was hard to read huge chunks in one sitting. despite being a work of fiction it's very clearly grounded in and inspired by real historical (and current) events so it's hard to "enjoy" this for its story without feeling an immense sense of grief for the countless victims of israel. the main character was initially fairly detached from and unmoved by palestine, and experiencing her (re)discovery of her homeland was incredibly touching. the writing in general was beautiful, and both the setting and the pacing were very intriguing. despite all the horror and trauma the characters find community with one another and i found myself almost forgetting how painful the rest of the book was at parts. 

i particularly enjoy more character driven novels so while i noticed a change in pace later on, i didn't ever feel like it dragged before that point - this might be a slight issue for some readers. i'd recommend this to anyone and everyone but there is a big focus on sexual violence in the first part of this novel, so i think it's worth checking the trigger warnings before you pick this one up.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Torture, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism, and Deportation

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Death of parent

Prostitution/Sex work

kjofalltrades's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abortion

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Infertility, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Infidelity, and Vomit

schlady's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

5.0

A painful, haunting, beautifully-written story of a Palestinian refugee woman's loss, suffering, and heartbreak alongside her strength, resistance, and love. The pace of the book is a steady balance of slow and medium throughout, with lyrical passages of devastating events and details sprinkled with moments of joy and hope. This memoir is technically a work of fiction yet it is very much real and historical, a history of brutal settler colonialism that continues into today. This novel is an important book, one that fights back while dancing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, and Alcohol

clarereadstheworld's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I feel like I'm one of the last people to read this book, and I'm kicking myself for taking so long to pick it up, it is such a beautiful and powerful book, with so much packed into just 360 odd pages.

From her isolation cell in an Israeli jail, Nahr tells us her story; from her brief first marriage, through the traumas of war, displacement and sexual exploitation, to the discovery of her homeland, and finally finding a place she felt she could belong. If only there could have been a happy ending.

Like many privileged people living in the west, I knew relatively little of the suffering of the Palestinian people until the violence which erupted around Gaza last summer. If I was shocked by what I learnt last May, it was nothing compared to what I felt reading this book. To say I was heartbroken for the loving innocent Nahr, and the life she wasn't allowed to live is such an understatement. Yet I was also in awe of her strength and resilience, as she was able to pick herself up and reconstruct her life again and again. Despite all the trauma she lived through, the simple fact that she was able to keep going, and find hope again was beautiful.

I loved all the main characters in this book, from Sitti Wasfiyeh the grouchy, seemingly ungrateful grandmother who actually has a heart of gold, to the Jumana who despite a false start turns out to be a true friend. Abulhawa creates such moving characters, with real complexity and depth.

Although the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is very much the core of this novel, so much else is explored in these pages. I found Nahr's attempts at finding love again after trauma, Bilal's gentle patience particularly moving. The ambiguous Um Buraq who both ruined and saved Nahr's life was a character I started off hating, but grew to love despite myself. She stood for women's freedom to do what they want with their bodies, even if that is have sex for money.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and War