Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

7 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

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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

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.

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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

umm_igor's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death

issy_jacob's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction and Vomit

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

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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.

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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

ka_cam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Ooph, an intense read. Nahr’s rage and numbness at the violence she experiences and witnesses are at time visceral in this reflective navigation of a Palestinian woman in Istraeli solitary confinement reflecting on her life in Kuwait, Jordan, and Palestine. Doesn’t shy away from sexual, structural, and interpersonal violence so please mind the content warnings. I felt the Palestinian characters could have been a bit less rosy/more complex, but with the narrator’s shifting mental state what lacks in the story can be excused for the narrator. Compellingly and sometimes beautifully written esp for such heavy subjects. Highly, highly recommend

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abortion and War

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Racial slurs, and Medical content