Reviews

A Land Without Jasmine by Wajdi Al-Ahdal

year23's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This is a bleak and scathing critique of patriarchy in Yemeni society. Challenging themes - I’m assuming and hoping the narratives are exaggerated to drive home the indictment of patriarchy but fear it may be actually be like this for many women. 

Agree with many of the reviews that this isn’t really a detective story and quite the opposite of sexy. It’s violent, grotesque, and terrifying - be careful of any review calling this “sexy”. I’d maybe put it as magical realism or speculative fiction. I don’t know if I’d recommend - it’s a book that will leave you feeling sick at times, you will be uncomfortable - and I think that’s the point. 

Check the trigger warning before going in. 

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yuei2222's review

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dark

4.0

anniinan's review

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

2.0

heathssm's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

donnireadss's review

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

minniegaio's review

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

3.0

filaughn's review

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4.0

I didn't find this book to be the "sexy mystery story" it is supposed to be based on the description. It was intriguing and I found a lot to think about here - I liked it a lot, actually. There's a significant critique of Yemeni society, and a mystical underpinning that upends what you may think is going on at first.

tessabloch's review

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3.0

I’m not sure how I feel about this book

elenasquareeyes's review

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4.0

I found A Land Without Jasmine strangely captivating. It’s a super short novel, less than 100 pages, and has seven chapters, each from a different character’s perspective. The first is from Jasmine’s, as she describes the heated gazes she receives from all men, young and old, even when wearing her niqab. How uncomfortable she feels, how their attention often makes her feel anxious as she wishes to be treated for more than what she looks like. The following chapters are from the perspective of detectives, neighbours, and family as they try and piece together what has happened to Jasmine.

The way Jasmine describes the unwanted attention she receives is uncomfortable to read, but what’s even more uncomfortable is when the story is from the point of view of her teenage neighbour who is infatuated with her. He, like a lot of the other male characters, seems to be unable to separate his desires and dreams from reality. His desires are explicit, and he becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened to Jasmine, forgetting to look out for himself or how his actions might be perceived by the police or Jasmine’s family.

I thought the writing in A Land Without Jasmine was often very good and provocative. However, there were some phrases that felt a bit stilted down to a choice of a word when another might’ve been more suitable but that was likely to be down to the translation. It did take me a little while to get into the story though. I think that was down to it being written in first person and I can’t remember the last book I read that was written in that tense. I think sometimes first-person narrative can make the writing seem more simplistic. At some points this seemed to work in the novels advantage, as it sometimes made statements more impactful, but at other points it made reading it feel slow and awkward.

A Land Without Jasmine is a almost a sexy mystery story – though while it does have erotic language in it, the way the characters objectify and belittle Jasmine doesn’t make it particularly sexy or appealing. There are some moments of wry sense of humour here, and how it brings in family politics, the importance and power of different family tribes for one, is interesting as that’s something I knew little about. A Land Without Jasmine is a strange mystery but once you get into the writing style, it becomes a compelling one.

dgrachel's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

To say I enjoyed this seems wrong. It’s well written and captured my attention from the very beginning, but the fear Jasmine experienced simply because she was female made me so angry. Patriarchal societies that claim female virginity as the ultimate purity and reflection of familial honor, and who place all responsibility for maintaining that purity on the shoulders of women while men prey upon those women, disgust me - and that goes for my own country’s despicable attitudes towards women and the rape-culture that exists here. My biggest issue with this was the ending. I found the ending unsatisfying.