Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

9 reviews

themoostconfused's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

i pre-ordered when i first hear about it and it took about 6 months to eventually end up in my hands. it was worth the wait in every single aspect of it.

i read the entire book within a single day and didn't want it to end. i loved the interwoven paths of the characters and how their lives are connected with each other even in ways they might not even realize themselves.

it touches on the experiences of being an immigrant/a child of immigrants and all the everyday struggles, racism and generational trauma that entails.

the fight for freedom for palestine is on-going and the colonial powers are still not being stopped on a big enough scale. from the river to the sea, palestine will be free.

after reading the lines...

"'you're our rock,' everyone told her, but that reputation did,'t feel like a compliment anymore. it felt like neglect"

...i had to take a quick break because that sums up so many experiences into one and made me feel seen in such a painful but freeing way.

this book is a work of art and i will treasure it forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Abortion, and War

Minor: Torture

kerriski's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Dementia, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

zahrahm's review

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

Largely my impression of the book was confused because the way it was pitched was that there were 3 families who after a specific event are intertwined… that didn’t happen at all. It was more there was 1-2 cameos across each short story. It may be an issue of the marketing but because it didn’t do what it promised I got to the end without realizing, thinking “… what?”
With that said, the short stories themselves tackle themes that are complicated, and there’s an argument that books like these must be written. BUT you must read the content warnings because I got blind-sighted multiple times when I’d suddenly get thrown for a loop with an event; I had to take breaks from the book because of it. I’m not someone who needs to read content warnings usually so this was a shock for me. Not a before-bed read for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage and Gaslighting

wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.0

Behind You is the Sea is a collection of interconnected short stories that center Palestinian characters. I had high hopes and was excited to see it on the shelves during my last library visit. Alas, it was not my cup of tea. The stories are set in Baltimore, but there is no distinguishing sense of place in these vignettes, nothing that makes you understand what it means to live, work, or grow up there. (The irony of it all was the cover designers note at the end proclaiming how Baltimore itself shined as a character here. WHERE?!) BYITS aimed to do too much and didn't execute on those ideas all that well. These stories touched on weighty subjects such as racism, classism, eating disorders, abortion, family conflicts, femicide, and domestic abuse. The writing style was heavy on the telling as opposed to showing, while also skirting around the issue at center of the story before addressing it with unnatural directness. There was little nuance and very little subtlety, while also not leaving much room for reflection from these characters whose head you've been in throughout the short story. The biggest off-putting aspect though was the cop-aganda in the two stories focusing on Marcus. He's a "good cop" and "overprotective brother" but a "bad son" until he takes his father's body back to Palestine and rushes into marriage (savior complex, much?) with a woman there. It's 2024. Do we need to romanticize police in this day and age? In a city as fraught with racialized and class divisions as Baltimore? Of all the commentary that didn't land...that one fell the most flat.

It was a fast read, which is perhaps the only reason I finished reading rather than quitting midway through.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

ymedhkour's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

When I started this, I didn't know it was interconnected short stories, so that threw me off a bit. The book description only focuses on 3 families, but there are chapters that go beyond that and over many years, so it was a bit disorienting.

Overall, there were definitely stories that stood out and make this book worth reading if you are looking for literature by Palestian authors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, and Violence

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

While I really appreciated the concept for this narrative - a loosely connected, multi-POV weaving of slice-of-life vignettes for Palestinians living in diaspora in Baltimore, Maryland - it ultimately felt like it never exceeded the sum of its parts. I'm actually confused after reading an interview with the author that suggests the Marcus POV was her starting point. Marcus's POV didn't feel nearly as compelling as several of the others, and it romanticized policing in a way that didn't make sense for the rest of the narrative and feels tonally confusing. The prose is compelling, and I love the focus on stand-alone scenes (there are several short stories in here that were truly beautiful). The author absolutely shows more than she tells here, and it made this feel fast-paced and immersive. Marcus's police POVs were jarring, though, and I'm not sure I fully understand the author's intention with this character and perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Child death, Confinement, and Sexual violence

robinks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a beautiful collection of interwoven, nuanced stories. I loved getting to see the characters from different perspectives. Escorting the Body was a powerful way to end the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Islamophobia, Dementia, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

lettuce_read's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Dementia

Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Classism

dragongirl271's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

“Destiny put everyone on a stage, to play a role, and sometimes the spotlight slipped off you to give you a break. At other times, it burned into you directly, relentlessly, as you stumbled through a soliloquy of exhaustion.”
Behind You Is The Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

One of the things that surprised me when I finally got back into reading regularly last year was how much I enjoy a collection of short stories. In fact, one of last year's books that I still constantly think about is a short story collection. So, I was really excited when blackwalnutbooks included the short story prompt again for this year's DecolonizeYourShelf2024 and I was even more excited when I saw posts about this book as a 2024 release by a beloved Palestinian author. And, let me tell you, the synopsis on this book does not do it justice.

I don't have the character space to talk about this book, but I'll give it a shot. Darraj gives us an overarching tale of 3 Palestinian-American families in a series of short stories that peek into short moments in the characters’ lives. Almost all the stories focus on a different character (Marcus gets two) and combined span years. These characters grow, learn about themselves, tackle stereotypes, love deeply, and grieve. We get to see a glimpse of the immigrant experience and the sharing of cultures. Each character decides what it means to them to be Arab and Palestinian in today's world. What family and culture mean to them. The journeys are messy and beautiful and human and this will not be the last time I read through them all. 

I love the idea of an episodic novel like this where all the short stories are connected. Occasionally, it was hard to keep all the names straight in the audiobook, but not everything can be perfect for every format. By the way, the audiobook is narrated extremely well.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Classism