Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

97 reviews

ialim01's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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pili_pi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative 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

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nicoleisalwaysreading's review

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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

3.5


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madelinedalton's review against another edition

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I wanted to love this and tried to trudge through for over a week, but in the end, I just couldn’t do it. I found myself constantly skimming pages, which isn’t a great sign. 

My main criticism of the book is that the characters feel very hollow. I don’t feel like I have a great sense of who they are as people—they are vessels to carry the plot and political turmoil along, and the plot itself is quite slow. 

To be completely fair to the author, I have been in a reading slump for months and don’t have the mental capacity for books about heavy, complex topics like this one. 

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emk5's review

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emotional medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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emersoncochran's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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


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tatooinesunrise's review

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challenging emotional 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

A harrowing but such an incredibly important read that speaks volumes of the suffering but enduring beautiful spirit of Palestine. 

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umm_igor's review against another edition

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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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kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

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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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lizziaha's review against another edition

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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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