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savvylit's review
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
The connecting thread throughout the stories in Alligator is one of disconnection. Whether disconnected by grief, gender, or outsider status, each character in this collection is singular and affecting. Ultimately, the most powerful of all these stories is the titular one, "Alligator." In it, Alzayat mixes form, featuring newspaper clippings and first-person perspectives from multiple members of the same grieving family. As the story progresses, the racial tensions of rural Florida in the mid-20th century gradually reveal themselves with stark and disturbing clarity. In the aftermath of a lynching, the characters of Alligator are forced to reckon with their loss.
Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, and War
jmbz38's review
reflective
medium-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
2.75
Ghusl = 1 / 5
Daughters of Manat = 5 / 5
Disappearance = 4 / 5
Only Those Who Struggle Succeed =
2.5 / 5
In the Land of Kann'an = 3 / 5
Alligator = 1.5 / 5
Summer of the Shark = 2 / 5
Once We Were Syrians = 1.5 / 5
A Girl in Three Acts = 5 / 5
TOTAL = 2.75 / 5
Daughters of Manat = 5 / 5
Disappearance = 4 / 5
Only Those Who Struggle Succeed =
2.5 / 5
In the Land of Kann'an = 3 / 5
Alligator = 1.5 / 5
Summer of the Shark = 2 / 5
Once We Were Syrians = 1.5 / 5
A Girl in Three Acts = 5 / 5
TOTAL = 2.75 / 5
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Abortion
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
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