A review by rayyash
God in Pink by Hasan Namir

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I'm sorry, I really wanted to enjoy this book. When I saw this, I thought it'd be a compelling read. I wanted to read about the experiences of a young Iraqi gay man, struggling with his sexuality, about how issues affect his life. About the experiences of a Sheikh and him torn on helping people and his own beliefs. 

There were important moments, but everything fell flat. A lot of the violence and trauma that happened in Ramy's life were glossed over, and we don't really see how these moments truly impacted him. It just felt underdeveloped. I didn't mind the simple writing of the book, how it was mainly dialogue, but so much wasn't fleshed out. It was going from one situation to another, with not enough explanation of how this might've impacted the character.

The narrative of the Sheikh was a bit stronger, but the visions with divinity just didn't work for me. 
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