Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

21 reviews

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Deportation

sadhbhprice's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Deportation

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy

joensign's review

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Deportation

Moderate: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

abigaelf's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Outing, and Deportation

madanxiety's review

5.0

My reading got interrupted by Spotify's listening limited halfway thru, but I finally finished. There were a lot of relatable moments. What I love about memoirs is that they often verbalize life lessons in a way that you've experienced, but never verbalized yourself. Anyway, I also liked how it is structured around the stories of the Quran being applied to the author's different experiences and lessons. I love a narrative through-line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

dragonlilly's review

dark medium-paced

3.0

This is a brave memoir about a multitude of things, addressing existence, racism, islamophobia, love and dating, family, queerness, the choice to wear hijab, the desire to fight for what is right, among smaller subtopics. I thought the comparison between the author's situations and stories from the Quran was interesting and extremely well done, and is a good example for others who are religious and use the word to connect with God and make better sense of their situation without feeling alone. It was also interesting seeing the differences between the Bible and Quran, mostly with the story of Mary/Maryam. I was unsure about the author's specific interpretations of these stories at times, mainly with the author saying Mary must not have an attraction to men at all when it was probably more so her devotion to God that overpowered any feelings she would have for the angel that appeared to her. I really did enjoy the Quran comparisons, but was also somehow expecting more from them as well as a discussion of other sections. There was however a very explicit scene of self-harm that is not performed, if I am remembering it correctly, but imagined by the author's younger self who in a way idealized death as a way to disappear. This scene happened so suddenly and I am surprised I got through some of it on the audiobook before hurriedly skipping it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

amina_writes_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

this books written narrative style is not at all unique from a literary point of view. There's allot of harsh transitions initially from the writers early days to present day at the start of the narrative, then this drops off entirely. The focus on the various prophets is unique, however Ill executed. And as the author "radicalizes" in her journey, her interpretations of the Quran become more and more abstract, and less and less backed by the tasfirs she supposedly has read. As someone who was raised a practicing Muslim and who is also queer, this book only highlights the abusive and oppressive nature of Islam as a whole. Very let down by this read as it had so much promise for many like me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Classism

starduststyx's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was an absolutely beautiful book and I'm so grateful to have gotten to read it through libby. The way Lamya's queerness and the stories from the Quran tie together is absolutely perfectly ( and I learned sooo many stories are similar in the bible because I grew up Christian haha )

This memoir was so hopeful and just inspired me to be more kind especially towards myself. We don't all need to make ourselves indispensable. 

I'm so excited to get to hear from them this May because they're doing a talk for OIT's bookclub!! And for the fiction work when it eventually comes out 💖

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

wanderlust_romance's review

hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

I really enjoyed this. I want to be completely forthright and say that if you are the sort of reader who is put off by discussion of organized religion, reflection on religious texts, or recounting of any religious stories, this memoir is not going to be your cup of tea.

Hijab Butch Blues examines a bevy of intersections: immigrant, South Asian, Muslim, queer, feminist, and gender nonconformity, to name just a few. It was absolutely fascinating to read the parallels between the stories of the Quran, their teachings, interpretations, and moral questions, and see those interwoven with anecdotes of the author's own life. The memoir is a reflection on what it has meant to live as a queer, gender non-conforming, and in their own description a "visible Muslim" (ie. hijab wearing) immigrant both within and outside of the United States. They enumerate the specific challenges in navigating relationships with the queer community, being made to feel "not gay enough," being critiqued for adhering to an organized religion. They discuss their struggles to come out, how their coming out is received, how it can change or sever relationships. They relate with openness and vulnerability their racist experiences within the United States (New York in particular) as a brown skinned visibly Muslim person. They relay the challenges of navigating immigration, unceasing bureaucracy, ridiculous medical examinations required by their visa reapplications, and how early on they were explicitly instructed on what documents to carry and how to comport themself when faced with questioning from authorities. Most profoundly, Hijab Butch Blues reinforces that there is no set timeline for any of these reflections. That they are all a meaningful part of learning, unlearning, growth, and maturity. There is no perfect path. There is the one we take; the one we learn from; the bonds we form along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship

hamletslover's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment