Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

65 reviews

crawforl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and War

kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Abortion, Colonisation, and Deportation

lizziaha's review against another edition

4.25

This is a story that spans years, and yet feels like only a very small part of the overall story. It reads like a memoir, and I honestly had a hard time reading it. It was hard to wrestle with how my opinions and pre-conceived notions occasionally differed from Nahr’s. And it was difficult to witness such human suffering. My brain kept trying to negate the seriousness of the events of this book because they are fictional, so I had to keep reminding myself to Palestinians face this and more at the hands of Israel. It made reading this book a very involved process for me. Which is why I think it is a book that is essential to the canon, and should be read and studied more widely. The characters all felt very complex and flawed, and abulhawa gave them space for that. There were some moments of real beauty and lyricism in the written word. Particularly in depictions of the Palestinian culture and people. From the river to the sea 🇵🇸

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Content Warnings

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

ddnreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

My heart ache for Nahr and Bilal 🥺🥺
But this book is much more than the love story of Nahr and Bilal (eventhough their love is extraordinarily tender and healing). 

Unputdownable and sharp, Against the Loveless World told a life of a woman who tried to find her way among the generational trauma of colonialism, refugee, and occupation. 

I love how the characters are flawed. How bare and jarring they told their lives. I love the raw honesty, the swearing, the curses.

This is a feminist book in its own way. 

I wept for the love mothers share. Their toughness through the worst of conditions. They're the real world's strongest soldiers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Deportation

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Colonisation, and War

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

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

01ivia's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Cancer

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Deportation