Reviews tagging 'Rape'

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

214 reviews

susanmarie94's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

Loved reading this right after I finished a non-fic about Palestine!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Misogyny and Death of parent

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

I finished this yesterday and I'm sure it will stay with me. A very powerful, intergenerational story of Palestinian-American women's lives. Multiple perspectives delving into abuse, motherhood, gender roles, education, and family secrets and lies. I was kept hooked by the mystery elements and the ending lingers in my mind.  

Help Amira save her husband Muhammad from Gaza 👉 https://www.gofundme.com/f/from-dreams-to-ruins-help-my-family-survive

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Islamophobia, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Abortion

cozyscones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

salemander's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, and Classism

kodi_rae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion

lnolen01's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Death of parent

cassie7e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

"She knew she had to teach them how to love themselves, that this was the only way they had a chance at happiness, only she didnt see how she could when the world pressed shame into women like pillows into their face."

This is a heartbreaking story of what it is to be an immigrant Palestinian woman in America in the face of layers of intergenerational trauma and shame. Never once did I want to stop reading despite the difficult subject matter. The relationships between the women are complex and matter more than anything else. The story is expertly told through multiple viewpoints across two time periods and several generations. The audio narrators also did a wonderful job.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent and Colonisation

letsgolesbians's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

couldn’t put it down, knocking down a star for a harry potter reference and the lack of pushback about virginity being tied to morality

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: War

the_reading_italian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I love this book. It's amazing and it really shows what purity culture and religion can do to women over the course of multiple generations. I think it is a very good example of how domestic violence and abuse is hidden (almost encouraged) in certain cultures because of beliefs and values. It was a hard read, but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys feminist literature or is interested in multigenerational historical fiction.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

jkreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was breathtaking. So thought-provoking, challenging, dark, hopeful, and gut-churning. The prose was lush and emotive without being overly flowery - to me this was a great example of “showing not telling”. This book didn’t need to tell me how to feel because the plot did that all on its own. The climax of this book felt inevitable, it was very obvious where it was going almost from the start, and yet somehow when it was revealed it still managed to feel like a gut punch. Incredible, incredible writing. Etaf Rum has cemented herself as a must-read author for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, and War