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rayyash's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'm sorry, I really wanted to enjoy this book. When I saw this, I thought it'd be a compelling read. I wanted to read about the experiences of a young Iraqi gay man, struggling with his sexuality, about how issues affect his life. About the experiences of a Sheikh and him torn on helping people and his own beliefs.
There were important moments, but everything fell flat. A lot of the violence and trauma that happened in Ramy's life were glossed over, and we don't really see how these moments truly impacted him. It just felt underdeveloped. I didn't mind the simple writing of the book, how it was mainly dialogue, but so much wasn't fleshed out. It was going from one situation to another, with not enough explanation of how this might've impacted the character.
The narrative of the Sheikh was a bit stronger, but the visions with divinity just didn't work for me.
There were important moments, but everything fell flat. A lot of the violence and trauma that happened in Ramy's life were glossed over, and we don't really see how these moments truly impacted him. It just felt underdeveloped. I didn't mind the simple writing of the book, how it was mainly dialogue, but so much wasn't fleshed out. It was going from one situation to another, with not enough explanation of how this might've impacted the character.
The narrative of the Sheikh was a bit stronger, but the visions with divinity just didn't work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts
emoryscott's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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
4.25
I read this book in a day. I was shocked to see the wide variety of reviews. I really enjoyed this read. The simplicity of the writing was powerful. Like another reviewer mentioned, the first rapid switch from calm inner dialogue to detailed violence was shocking, but it also drew me in. I became invested in what the main character was experiencing. I empathized with him, in part, because of the way his traumas were explained. The reader has no choice but to face it with him.
The characters are complex, and the ending leaves much for the reader to fill in. However, I didn’t find that to be irritating. I like a little bit of ambiguity though. Sometimes it helps to let your mind continue writing the characters’ stories.
The characters are complex, and the ending leaves much for the reader to fill in. However, I didn’t find that to be irritating. I like a little bit of ambiguity though. Sometimes it helps to let your mind continue writing the characters’ stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lmaloney's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Outing
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
jayisreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
3.75
God in Pink is a short novel with heavy content. Quiet and heartbreaking, Namir gives the reader a look into life for gay Muslims in Iraq through Ramy, a closeted man who’s pressured to find a wife by his brother and sister-in-law. Woven into Ramy’s story is the local sheikh’s own, Ammar, whose interactions with Ramy and his homosexuality lead to his own questioning of the relationship between religion and sexuality.
I was somewhat shocked by the amount of violence packed into such a short novel, yet I can’t imagine sugarcoating the reality of Ramy and other gay Muslims. There’s a particular grief that I felt while reading because of the pureness of Ramy’s love; it hurt to read about the aches he felt to live freely as a gay man. He is given fleeting moments of happiness that I treasured, but they’re so bittersweet. Then there was Ammar’s story, which slowly opened up to be something more than what initially read to me as a somewhat hallucinatory state— I really enjoyed the way Namir wove the two men’s stories in a way that put the two in conversation with each other.
That said, this novel felt a little too short. It was tightly packed with a lot of nuanced themes that require time to digest, but that left the plot and character development to suffer. As a result, it felt like there were missing details that could have made the story richer. There’s a lot to think about, though, and I’m left somewhat haunted by events that took place in less than two hundred pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Religious bigotry