Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

17 reviews

proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Som 17-åring gifter sig Nahr med grannens son Mhammad, men äktenskapet blir kort när Mhammad en dag bara försvinner. Nahr sätts på hårda prov när hon måste försörja sin lillebror, mamma och farmor.

Jag har läst Susan Abulhawas tidigare två böcker som jag älskat och denna var inget undantag! Jag älskar Abulhawas språk och hon får mig verkligen att vara närvarande i det jag läser. Det ger mig en mer djupgående insikt i hur livet för palestinier kan vara (och är), oavsett var de bor. Hur det är att ständigt leva i exil, när man har ett ben på flera platser utan att känna sig riktigt hemma på något av dem. Jag uppskattar också att få lära känna så mycket av kulturen: kläder, mat, musik, högtider, familjesammansättningar, seder och bruk. Allt utan att det känns som en info-dump, utan helt integrerat i handlingen.

Jag gillar att Nahr inte är undfallande, att hon har skinn på näsan och är intelligent. Ibland blev jag ändå irriterad på en del av hennes beslut, men det bevisar bara att hon är en komplex människa, precis som många är.

Ett citat från boken som fick mig att tänka till:

"Jag märker att reportrar och författare som kommer hit egentligen inte vill lyssna på mig eller få reda på något om mig, förutom sådant som bekräftar den berättelse de redan tror på."

Detta stämmer in på de flesta människor (även mig), det är därför det är så svårt att få någon att ändra åsikt. Istället för att söka mig till den vanliga nyhetsrapporteringen om den nuvarande konflikten i Palestina/Israel, som oftast är pro-israelisk trots att den ska vara oberoende, så vänder jag mig till andra källor (t ex Amnesty) som jag tycker mer överensstämmer med min egen bild. Rätt eller fel? Finns väl inget enkelt svar där heller...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Deportation

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

autumn33344's review

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

katialena's review

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thienly's review

sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Abulhawa's writing feels almost poetic at times. I especially enjoyed the way she depicted the complicated relationships Nahr had with other women in her life. Parts of the book really validate the sentiment "men suck" 👹. Nahr goes through so much trauma as a woman and a refugee that when she gets any sort of relief I am ridiculously happy for her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Gun violence and Antisemitism

Minor: Drug use, Torture, Abortion, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

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