Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

57 reviews

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

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

holmahoney's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

sarah_js's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book forced me to reexamine what I think and understand about Palestinian identity, marginalization, and resistance. A beautiful exploration of Palestinian and Arab culture, language, and landscape. A heartbreaking mirror of Israel’s ongoing occupation and genocide. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Murder

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

vanessamariebooks's review

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

01ivia's review against another edition

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

tahsintries's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism