Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Against The Loveless World

Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Against The Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

73 reviews

lizziaha's review against another edition

4.25

This is a story that spans years, and yet feels like only a very small part of the overall story. It reads like a memoir, and I honestly had a hard time reading it. It was hard to wrestle with how my opinions and pre-conceived notions occasionally differed from Nahr’s. And it was difficult to witness such human suffering. My brain kept trying to negate the seriousness of the events of this book because they are fictional, so I had to keep reminding myself to Palestinians face this and more at the hands of Israel. It made reading this book a very involved process for me. Which is why I think it is a book that is essential to the canon, and should be read and studied more widely. The characters all felt very complex and flawed, and abulhawa gave them space for that. There were some moments of real beauty and lyricism in the written word. Particularly in depictions of the Palestinian culture and people. From the river to the sea 🇵🇸

Content Warnings

ddnreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

My heart ache for Nahr and Bilal 🥺🥺
But this book is much more than the love story of Nahr and Bilal (eventhough their love is extraordinarily tender and healing).

Unputdownable and sharp, Against the Loveless World told a life of a woman who tried to find her way among the generational trauma of colonialism, refugee, and occupation.

I love how the characters are flawed. How bare and jarring they told their lives. I love the raw honesty, the swearing, the curses.

This is a feminist book in its own way.

I wept for the love mothers share. Their toughness through the worst of conditions. They're the real world's strongest soldiers.

Content Warnings

readandfindout's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

Content Warnings

holmahoney's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

Content Warnings

sarah_js's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This book forced me to reexamine what I think and understand about Palestinian identity, marginalization, and resistance. A beautiful exploration of Palestinian and Arab culture, language, and landscape. A heartbreaking mirror of Israel’s ongoing occupation and genocide.

Content Warnings

abeilleabbie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

shieldbearer's review against another edition

Go to review page

This book was beautifully written but it didn't grab me the way "Mornings in Jenin" did. There is a lot of heavy, nuanced plotting here, but there are also several ways the plotting falls short, When looked at as a work of fiction, this simply does not do it for me. Part of it is that I can't get invested in the romance. A similar work that I preferred a lot is "Minor Detail"

Content Warnings