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kamin8882's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Genocide and Death of parent
yazzy_annalise's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
I struggled a lot while reading this book. I went back and forth about how much I liked it or not. The first half of the book felt very slow to me, and I was frustrated by the main character's inner monologue. From the very beginning I knew she deserved better and it was really difficult getting through her character growth. HOWEVER, I do think it is so incredibly realistic to how inner healing and traumatized brains work.
Her character growth was slow and hard to get through because that is how it is in real life. Growth isn't entertaining and people make wrong and bad decisions on their journey's to be better people. The fact that she grew and knew what would ultimately be best for herself and for her children means so much more for Yara's journey. That's what she has been battling all this time: all of these expectations that were forced on her that she thinks defines who she is, when the reality is that she can make choices that will lead to a different life. She just has to be intentional about those choices. This shift in the story telling felt kind of abrupt and really quick at the end, but I can't be upset because I think the author ultimately ended the novel in such a perfect way. I thought the ending would feel rushed, but it felt very full circle. All of the previous entries made sense with just those last couple of pages.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to support Arab and Palestinian authors but also need to read a fiction book. It really explores what it means to have fulfilling relationships and life in world that puts so many expectations on us.
Her character growth was slow and hard to get through because that is how it is in real life. Growth isn't entertaining and people make wrong and bad decisions on their journey's to be better people. The fact that she grew and knew what would ultimately be best for herself and for her children means so much more for Yara's journey. That's what she has been battling all this time: all of these expectations that were forced on her that she thinks defines who she is, when the reality is that she can make choices that will lead to a different life. She just has to be intentional about those choices. This shift in the story telling felt kind of abrupt and really quick at the end, but I can't be upset because I think the author ultimately ended the novel in such a perfect way. I thought the ending would feel rushed, but it felt very full circle. All of the previous entries made sense with just those last couple of pages.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to support Arab and Palestinian authors but also need to read a fiction book. It really explores what it means to have fulfilling relationships and life in world that puts so many expectations on us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infidelity and Death of parent
rberdan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is the first book I've written by Etaf Rum. I can see from many other reviews that what is consistent about this author is her ability to bring the reader into the emotional reality of the character.
This story was a pretty deep dive into the internal and external life of Yara, a young wife and mother who holds the weight of cultural expectations while longing for a different path. It follows her experience with the judgment of others as she slowly begins to look within herself to see who she can become on the other side of grief and trauma. As a whole, that unravels in a way that feels very real (and aligned with some of my own experience), even if it is hard to be in the emotional places Yara has to go through in order to heal.
I think the moments I struggled with in the book come down to forgetting how young Yara is as she navigates life. Also, I think her husband's dismissive behaviour was really difficult to sit through; though it's not an excuse for how unkind he could be to his wife, I got the impression his behaviour had a lot to do with a combination of immaturity and also wanting a different path than his family and community would see him follow. I suspect because it was a good reflection of reality, I found some of the racism Yara experienced really hard to endure, and I'm white.
I appreciated seeing Yara find her own inner strength and how she got into real talk with her daughters so they could have a different experience than she did. I loved how her supportive friendship became such a lovely touchstone for her. I appreciated how the book treated her relationship with her mother, in particular the importance of understanding the role of a child vs. the role of a parent and the journey of forgiveness that can make way for so much healing. The ending was so wonderfully hopeful.
This was a hard and beautiful read. I think I would have rated this higher when I was in a life stage that more closely aligned with Yara's as I think I would have benefited from more insight than I was able to get from this book at this point in my life.
This story was a pretty deep dive into the internal and external life of Yara, a young wife and mother who holds the weight of cultural expectations while longing for a different path. It follows her experience with the judgment of others as she slowly begins to look within herself to see who she can become on the other side of grief and trauma. As a whole, that unravels in a way that feels very real (and aligned with some of my own experience), even if it is hard to be in the emotional places Yara has to go through in order to heal.
I think the moments I struggled with in the book come down to forgetting how young Yara is as she navigates life. Also, I think her husband's dismissive behaviour was really difficult to sit through; though it's not an excuse for how unkind he could be to his wife, I got the impression his behaviour had a lot to do with a combination of immaturity and also wanting a different path than his family and community would see him follow. I suspect because it was a good reflection of reality, I found some of the racism Yara experienced really hard to endure, and I'm white.
I appreciated seeing Yara find her own inner strength and how she got into real talk with her daughters so they could have a different experience than she did. I loved how her supportive friendship became such a lovely touchstone for her. I appreciated how the book treated her relationship with her mother, in particular the importance of understanding the role of a child vs. the role of a parent and the journey of forgiveness that can make way for so much healing. The ending was so wonderfully hopeful.
This was a hard and beautiful read. I think I would have rated this higher when I was in a life stage that more closely aligned with Yara's as I think I would have benefited from more insight than I was able to get from this book at this point in my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
nishath's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Minor: Genocide and War
boop123's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A very poignant read that touches on the intricacies and complexities of motherhood, intergenerational trauma, being a woman of color, and living with a family with conservative values. I highlighted so many quotes on here so you know it’s good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, and Colonisation
campisforever's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
This book is a really, really difficult one in which to get immersed if you're not into internal or cerebral plots (like me). It's also an honest, raw look into generational trauma, complex PTSD (C-PTSD), depression, and suicidal ideation. That said, Evil Eye is gorgeously written and well worth it. It took me quite a while to get through (a few days over six months) because I had to pick it up and put it down several times. The only thing that really worked for me was transitioning to listening to it on Spotify and tracking the reading with the pages in my physical copy. Making this change helped me, as a highly visual person, take a small step back from having to experience the raw feelings of the novel and gave me breathing room to react. Once I was able to get that room, I appreciated the story much more.
For the question about whether I found the characters loveable I said "It's complicated." Let me explain:I love Yara deeply, I love Mira and Jude, and I love Silas and Josephine. I had strong reactions to Fadi, his family, and Yara's family in many ways, but to say they weren't "loveable" wouldn't necessarily be fair, since that's the point of the whole book. I think a fairer way to put it is that I was frustrated by how Fadi, etc., just wouldn't listen to Yara when Yara was working so hard on herself.
Also, if you're an academic, the first third might be frustrating, but it will pass, I promise. In general, I think that if you have the patience to give this book time, it will give what it needs to. In the end I was genuinely moved, but it's not something I would recommend blindly.
For the question about whether I found the characters loveable I said "It's complicated." Let me explain:
Also, if you're an academic, the first third might be frustrating, but it will pass, I promise. In general, I think that if you have the patience to give this book time, it will give what it needs to. In the end I was genuinely moved, but it's not something I would recommend blindly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Genocide, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Colonisation
Domestic and physical abuse situations are referenced in the past and somewhat "offscreen" but they're still present and visceral. Misogyny is inherent in various treatment of the main character. Suicidal ideation is present, but not violent necessarily--potentially passive ideation. References to Colonization and genocide are in the context of stories about the 1948 Nakba (forced dispossession and genocide of Palestinians perpetrated by Israel). Islamophobia and xenophobia are present in offhanded--but relevant--comments by others about the main character's "culture" (in scare quotes because how they treat it is a fundamental misunderstanding).aishallnot's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Genocide
judah_g's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide
nithya_natalya's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Trying to read more books by Palestinian authors, and this one showed up on a few lists of recs. I'm not normally a literary fiction fan, so I struggled through this. So much of this book is Yara's inner thoughts, and not a lot of plot. Normally, I would hate that. However, I'm giving it 4 stars though because it made me cry multiple times, and the fact that it brought such strong emotions at me means it was doing something right. I saw myself and my family in Yara's experience. I also am a sucker for storylines involving platonic love, and there was a great friendship in this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Colonisation, and War
clairebartholomew549's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I found this book incredibly affecting. Yara's sense of loss and instability really resonated with me, and the themes around generational trauma and an enduring sense of wrongness got to me. I felt attached to Yara from the beginning; Rum does a phenomenal job of explaining how Yara's depression showed up in her body, how she tried so hard to be a good mother and good partner, and how she had no safe place to land. Her friendship with Silas is really beautiful, and the journey she goes on feels so rewarding. As with A Woman Is No Man, Rum's depiction of patriarchy and sexism and stifling family expectations is truly devastating, and her examination of how we can have empathy for our mothers while wishing it had been different anyway really hit me. This one will stay with me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy