Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

36 reviews

justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

2.0

 “Words could do extraordinary things, but sometimes they were not enough.”

Sigh... Where should I begin? I read (listened) to this book in one day, so that's something.

Yet again, I expected something different to what I got. The Muslim representation and Arab representation left something to be desired. I know that some people have experienced this because of culture, yet I can't help feel like something is off. It didn't feel like a Palestinian-American experience. It felt like an inaccurate depiction of the Arab-American experience of immigrating to the USA, which was still not one that I liked very much, considering that every man was abusive and toxic. I think this book was catered towards a different audience. I can't help but feel the same way I felt when I read Home Fire. I don't think I'll be reading Evil Eye. Even the pronunciation of Arabic and Islamic words and phrases felt off in this book. Including the main character's names! Which I found really off-putting. This book felt repetitive. And a bit dull at times. I wanted to do other things besides listen to it and I was glad when it was over. And this book could have been a great way to show nuanced situations... and unfortunately nuance is what this book lacked. Honestly I'm just disappointed...

When will we get Muslim representation that is actually accurate??? Maybe I should just write it myself... 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Abortion

camilahaha__'s review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Blood, and Alcohol

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

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

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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

mekowaletti's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense 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? Yes

4.75

Told from multiple generations about the personal trauma that flows through decisions made by those not thinking about individual impact. Just deep and raw and I loved the alternation from mother to daughter. You can't help but feel deeply for these characters and know that all decisions were based on what they thought was best.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

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

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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

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.

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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

caprivoyant's review against another edition

emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

I've been staring at my phone trying to write a review for 20 minutes. I can't. This book is beautiful. It'll break your heart and make you love your people (and stories) even more. That's all I've got.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion and Colonisation

Harry Potter reference

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

ratnix's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Alcohol