Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

38 reviews

saucy_bookdragon's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

"But I know now that going from place to place is just something exiles have to do. Whatever the reason, the earth is never steady beneath our feet."

Against the Loveless World is a very thematically charged novel. Following the life of a Palestinian woman named Nahr, she is continuously upheaved by political turmoil leading to her making home in various places including Kuwait, Jordan, and Palestine, eventually landing her in an Israeli prison where she writes her story. Along the way the book discusses a very large variety of topics related to the region, including but not limited to genocide, colonialism, and feminism. It's a fiction novel that reflects the reality for many Palestinians.

The prose was absolutely gorgeous, flowing smoothly and lyrically, immediately transporting the reader into the story. It's pretty episodic and I liked some sections more than others, in particular the one where she was a prostitute and the one where she was actively rebelling against Israel I found the most interesting and poignant. I do wish that the book had lingered more on some aspects as at times it felt as if it was mentioning themes and topics without fleshing them fully out. I also found Nahr to be somewhat distant from the reader, she was often pretty passive and I never felt I really knew what were her personal beliefs and motives. The sections I mentioned enjoying the most where the ones Nahr and the themes were the most fully realized.

There's a lot to unpack and think about with this book and it's a good reminder for me that I still have a lot to learn about Middle Eastern history. It's a thematically rich story about someone marginalized by both her ethnicity and gender, left wayward in a world torn apart by violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Antisemitism

megannicolemay_'s review

challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Islamophobia, Abortion, Colonisation, and War

illustrativemisfit's review

Too heavy for me for it being a novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Well written. Great storytelling. maybe if i was in a better place mentally i could have finished it.

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

clairevlinney's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Death of parent, 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

abeilleabbie's review

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

nitsuma's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abortion