A review by angechen
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
3.0
the book is written for people like me, individuals with no connection to the middle east and a tenuous knowledge of its history. i appreciate this novel for what it tries and succeeds to do, which is to showcase perspectives rarely considered by the average propaganda-infused westerner.
the writing itself is odd. nahr's story felt less like a narrative and more of a laundry list of experiences plucked from research and inserted into her character. certain sections felt as if they were written separately and then mushed together to form something cohesive enough. especially in her pre-bilal years, aspects of nahr's story seemed to have been included just to fulfill a later plotline (i.e. introductory aspects of her story lacked depth). except for the explorations around womanhood, this book isn't particularly incisive: it simply and obviously challenges a westerner's ingrained biases.
the heart of the novel revolves around nahr's relationships: with bilal, with her mother, with um buraq. these bonds were what ultimately kept me reading, and i find that the storytelling was strongest when centered on them (especially in the context of rebellion). i wish that abdulhawa had applied more attention and care to the entire book instead of just pieces, especially because this novel shares such important narratives. had she injected a little more nuance and a little less heavy-handedness, she might have sunk her teeth into something truly thought-provoking.
the writing itself is odd. nahr's story felt less like a narrative and more of a laundry list of experiences plucked from research and inserted into her character. certain sections felt as if they were written separately and then mushed together to form something cohesive enough. especially in her pre-bilal years, aspects of nahr's story seemed to have been included just to fulfill a later plotline (i.e. introductory aspects of her story lacked depth). except for the explorations around womanhood, this book isn't particularly incisive: it simply and obviously challenges a westerner's ingrained biases.
the heart of the novel revolves around nahr's relationships: with bilal, with her mother, with um buraq. these bonds were what ultimately kept me reading, and i find that the storytelling was strongest when centered on them (especially in the context of rebellion). i wish that abdulhawa had applied more attention and care to the entire book instead of just pieces, especially because this novel shares such important narratives. had she injected a little more nuance and a little less heavy-handedness, she might have sunk her teeth into something truly thought-provoking.