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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
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).lwrisley's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
koiolee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book has a purpose. But it's not really my cup of tea. I normally love books about marginalized communities fighting what they know to move forward, change, heal, but this book felt more like a therapy session than a story of healing. There are long segments of typical therapy advice, stories, jargon, that makes the book drag on. There's metaphors that the author tells you explicitly what they mean, instead of an implicit nod towards. It feels like you're dumbing it down for your audience, when your audience is likely college-level, college-educated, media literate readers. You're writing for a small audience, when your actual audience are more or less people like me.
EDIT: It gives Catcher in the Rye vibes omg.
EDIT: It gives Catcher in the Rye vibes omg.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Self harm and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
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
taliabasma's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed reading Yara’s journey however, it was so frustrating throughout the whole book, which I’m sure was the author’s intention anyway so in that regards, she was successful at making me feel the frustration that Yara felt as she tried to break free from the chains of her trauma.
Had I not been reading this for a bookclub, I would’ve stopped ages ago - not because the writing was bad, but because I hate reading anything that isn’t a romance lol
Had I not been reading this for a bookclub, I would’ve stopped ages ago - not because the writing was bad, but because I hate reading anything that isn’t a romance lol
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racism and Islamophobia
rachelfayreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and War
author2223's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Islamophobia
Minor: Genocide and War
notthatcosta's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
3.5
My favourite parts of the book were the loving descriptions of cooking Palestinian food and the exploration of generational trauma, both of which resonate particularly hard considering the plight of Gaza. On the other hand, the dialogue felt a bit static and watered down at points which pulled me out of the story often - as did the reputation of the physical manifestations of Yara's grief.
As a Cypriot, stories about the Nakba and reverence for olive trees and our ancestral land hit me hard and add gravitas to the ways in which Yara's heritage informs her struggles and create conflicts within her head.
The journal entries are challenging to read, and Yara's lack of self belief make it hard to root for her at points because of the extent to which she is suffering from generational trauma and PTSD, but ultimately the sense of liberation and self-discovery feels really earned and grounded with the book.
As a Cypriot, stories about the Nakba and reverence for olive trees and our ancestral land hit me hard and add gravitas to the ways in which Yara's heritage informs her struggles and create conflicts within her head.
The journal entries are challenging to read, and Yara's lack of self belief make it hard to root for her at points because of the extent to which she is suffering from generational trauma and PTSD, but ultimately the sense of liberation and self-discovery feels really earned and grounded with the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War