A review by nolemdaer
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

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

2.25

The strength of this book was its worldbuilding: a thoughtfully-constructed world that is (as the synopsis says) queernormative but still rife with societal complexities. A major theme was migrancy and immigration, underlaid with a storyline about forbidden medical magic that lends the story its fantasy element. On this note, the book didn’t do anything wrong, per se—but the short length and repeated summarizing of several months into a paragraph or two made it hard to get very far beyond the acknowledgment and demonstration of inequity and oppression.

Ultimately, I didn’t find the characters particularly likable, which made it difficult to care much about them and thus the story. Firuz spent most of the time feeling guilty and spineless about something or the other, which did not endear me to them at all. (Also, apparently they're even more awkward on the page than at 1.75x speed in the audiobook—so perhaps it's good that I listened to this one.)
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