Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Son of Sin

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Son of Sin by Omar Sakr

12 reviews

decie's review

4.25

"As always now, he wondered which [redacted], whether it was [redacted], all or none of them. What chance was there that Hala had conjured such a specific example on the fly? How much weight should be given to a sentence? His therapist told him that it was none of his business, and that his desire to account for sins, to name and measure them, was tied to his need to punish himself and to exert control on the uncontrollable."

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malignantmoon's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Hard one to review because so much of this felt like a real story, like my story. I'm sure 30-something-year-old Australian millennials who grew up Muslim and queer (especially Lebanese and Turkish ones) will read this book and feel like they are looking into a mirror. I saw my cousins in Jamal's as the police continually hounded them. I saw the 'we all know but won't speak of it' sentiment of Turkish culture regarding sin.

I saw the beauty too, of found family, of unbreakable familial bonds, of God and love, self-acceptance and love, of Sakr's origins as a poet feeling into the verse of this novel.

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saint_eleanor's review

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emotional inspiring mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

This was really really sweet and enjoyable
I wanted to like it more than i did but i was kind of Tee’d up for a magical realism story and this really wasn’t that. Therefore i kept holding onto details that weren’t really relevant

for instance i was really excited about the talking kangaroo and when his skin started coming off his forehead?? And the sleep paralysis demon. None of which are part of the story at all.

It seemed very possibly autobiographical despite being a ‘novel’, about a young gay muslim man in diaspora from Lebanon living in Australia. Coming of age story fs.
It’s pretty sad but also not like devastating or anything just about the intricacies of family and religion and culture which of course are always hard. The ending is sweet and hopeful and you kind of just follow him as he grows up.
The author’s writing style is also lovely.
P.s. Omar Sakr is doing cool poetry/writing and stuff rn in support of Palestine and Lebanon so thats sick

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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kellyung's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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scops_xyz's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

Content Warnings

thelibraryofalexandra's review

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dark emotional 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

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jouljet's review

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

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starmerchant's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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nibs's review

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dark 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

4.25

This was the April pick of a queer literature book club I am in. I'd enjoyed Omar Sakr's contribution to the short story collection After Australia and was keen to read more of his work. When we met up for bookclub, I still had about 30 pages left, but I was able to enjoy the discussion and not feel spoiled due to the nature of his writing. The writing isn't plot-based, its more following a character through his own experiences.

You can tell this book is written by a poet. It is so carefully worded, with so much packed into some sentences in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it way. It felt like we were going back over Jamal's experiences with him. Reading about him as a bi man and seeing how queerness was viewed in the varying intersections of his cultures (Muslim expectations, Lebanese and Turkish cultures). Finding out what it was like in western Sydney at this time was really insightful - I'm a bit too young to know from the news. This is the kind of book I'd like to reread one day, it's so rich in detail.

I originally gave this 4 stars, but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. A week later I was thinking it should be 4.5 stars. I've concluded that I'll average it out to 4.25 stars.

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