juliacremin's review against another edition
4.0
Read this in one sitting - really immersive and interesting, but I couldn’t sit well with the fact that the person he was in love with killed himself in front of him and he moved on so quickly.
rachie_dunn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
sweddy65's review against another edition
4.0
I gave this four stars because it is an important story that people should read. The writing is not spectacular.
I am currently reading my way through the Lambda Literary Award winners, and started with this one. Do you wonder what it is like to be a gay man under a fundamentalist government? The answer is here and is horrifying.
I am currently reading my way through the Lambda Literary Award winners, and started with this one. Do you wonder what it is like to be a gay man under a fundamentalist government? The answer is here and is horrifying.
jaybirdt's review
4.0
New Hope
A beautiful book that sparks in the darkness, shedding a little bit of light to the unknown. I really hope change happens in those parts of the world where these topics are forbidden.
A beautiful book that sparks in the darkness, shedding a little bit of light to the unknown. I really hope change happens in those parts of the world where these topics are forbidden.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
2.0
The subject matter of this book is compelling: I have never read a book about the experience of being a gay man in Iraq, and their stories need to be told. Unfortunately, Namir's prose style doesn't live up to the weightiness of his subjects: Ramy's life is full of traumatic events and abuse, but Namir never gave himself space to really write about the impact of those events on Ramy's psyche. I often felt like I was reading notes for what should be a much longer piece, because everything happens so rapidly, and for me to truly engage with the impact of what happens, I needed the aftermath of what happens to be given much more time and development. The book alternates between the perspectives of Ramy, a young gay man, and Ammar, a sheikh whose guidance Ramy seeks. The two men are full of internal strife and desperately struggling to understand themselves in a place that is hostile to them. The magic realism and struggle with God coupled with the dilemmas of being gay are really interesting ideas, but I desperately wanted Namir to spend more time in each scene and develop the emotions and atmosphere of this story. I really hope he writes another book, because this novel has urgency and power, and could be so much more than it is.
joyceberry's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
bmurray153's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
spicysav's review against another edition
4.0
Sad sad sad but such beautiful writing. This is the type of piece that makes me want to go back to college, take a creative writing class with Namir, and get to workshop his piece just to be like: nO NoTEs!!! I mean truly there were so many moments that would have been praised in a CW class that only makes me sad that I have not yet talked about this book w someone else.
But is very heavy. A story of a gay man in Iraq where the Islamic law forbids any sort of queer identity. Faced w marrying a women like his family wants him to do or literally dying…. Sorry spoilers. Alongside his story is the story of a sheikh that is confronting (so so literally) queerness in both himself and I’m really existential terms. The way these two stories play (is that the right word? It literally feels like they do on the physical page) with each other makes it all the more devastating.
It moved super super fast. Traumatic things are happening and in the next sentence we are onto something else.
I think the small mentions of the woman’s hyper suppressed role in society is touched upon but too lightly, like it was always brushed over. I also think that if the conclusion is “the only way out alive is America bc freedom is there” then the sheikh is right that that’s not the full picture.
All that being said, the exploration of queerness in different places around the world in literature is pretty new to me. I think this was a really tragic story told beautifully.
But is very heavy. A story of a gay man in Iraq where the Islamic law forbids any sort of queer identity. Faced w marrying a women like his family wants him to do or literally dying…. Sorry spoilers. Alongside his story is the story of a sheikh that is confronting (so so literally) queerness in both himself and I’m really existential terms. The way these two stories play (is that the right word? It literally feels like they do on the physical page) with each other makes it all the more devastating.
It moved super super fast. Traumatic things are happening and in the next sentence we are onto something else.
I think the small mentions of the woman’s hyper suppressed role in society is touched upon but too lightly, like it was always brushed over. I also think that if the conclusion is “the only way out alive is America bc freedom is there” then the sheikh is right that that’s not the full picture.
All that being said, the exploration of queerness in different places around the world in literature is pretty new to me. I think this was a really tragic story told beautifully.
zoebertie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0