Reviews

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

evkrieg's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

3.75

faliiza's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense slow-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

mateusjobim's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

stephjones71's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

savannahheil's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

ohhellokelli's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.5

jazzzzzis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

I felt utterly raw and laid bare by this story. It follows Yara, a Palestinian American woman haunted by her volatile upbringing and is now struggling to find herself. Juggling her love for her daughter, expectations from the community, and expectations from herself, Yara starts a journey to uncover herself. She is worried she is cursed and her journal entries and inner thoughts are achingly human and vulnerable. 

I wanted to wrap Yara in my arms and at the same time I wanted to wrap myself up in a big hug. Perhaps one might find Yara’s growth through therapy cliche at times, but I felt utterly seen and held by those passages. It made me feel a little braver about how I view myself and my relation to my family. Maybe brave enough to start therapy again. 

moonlightpgs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

blythehill's review against another edition

3.0

It must be hard to follow such a killer novel as her debut, A Woman is No Man. This one attempted to offer similar drama of the cultural limitations placed on Palestinian American women (and children of immigrants), but it fell a bit flat. I wanted to love it, but It was repetitive and predictable. Also—and this might not be fair since I’m married to a painter myself—but the bits about art and painting (and eventually, earning income from selling art) felt overly simplistic and unrealistic— even idealistic. I don’t know if others would have a hard time getting past that, but I did.

duranceau22ced's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0