Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan

11 reviews

vegronica's review

emotional 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

4.75

I think a lot of what I love about this is Leila Buck's narration in the audiobook. I wouldn't re-read it but I was hooked the whole time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Blood, Violence, Sexual harassment, Hate crime, Homophobia, Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, Abortion, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Dementia

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: War and Islamophobia

dragongirl271's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, and Death

Minor: Racism, Abortion, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

cjlacyhanks's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Abortion and Dementia

Minor: War

katharina90's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

A multigenerational drama largely centered around family secrets and dysfunctional dynamics. 

The characters are beautifully complex, sometimes loveable, sometimes infuriating. As with Salt Houses, I found myself much more invested in the lives of the older generation. 

At times, the pacing was slower than I would have liked but pushing through those parts was well worth it. 

The one thing I really didn't care for was the amount of infidelity. It felt repetitive for almost every character to either cheat or be cheated on, or both.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Abortion, Grief, Murder, Drug use, Sexual assault, Racism, Infidelity, and Homophobia

Minor: Classism, Death of parent, and Fatphobia

kquixotic's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Oooo I love a family saga full of secrets, revelations, romance, and existential crises. The Arsonist’s City has it all. 

I appreciate this book for upending western stereotypes of Arab people, particularly around women, sex, and sexuality, with every character navigating contradictions. 

The backdrop of the impact of Western intervention in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon further, complicates and enriches the narrative. I was affected! Upon finishing this book I had to go to the local Lebanese buffet to eat my feelings. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Death, Murder, Violence, and Homophobia

samisal's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book floored me. It is such a brilliantly crafted, clever story and it captures you from the start. I read this book faster than I remember reading anything in years. Hala Alyan captures Arab family dynamics in so many perfect personal details but nothing about this story feels predictable and the secrets this family contains are delicately arranged throughout the story. It is an emotional but loving read that really breaks these characters and relationships down in a beautiful way. I particularly loved the reflections in Mazna's chapters, the love and care that Alyan gives to a complicated woman experiencing so many of the damaging dynamics of Arab-American motherhood and womanhood. I love the narratives this book allows our community to explore, I love the writing, which is so clever and funny and sad, and I love this book from cover to cover. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abortion, War, and Drug use

Minor: Death of parent and Body shaming

keatynbergsten's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Drug use, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Pregnancy, and War

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

 - I feel like I've lost my ability to write any kind of proper reviews of literary fiction, especially this kind of sprawling family epic variety, but THE ARSONISTS' CITY was too beautiful to leave off my feed.
- I was completely gripped by the stories of every member of the Nasr family. The way the story unraveled between the two timelines was just masterful.
- Also, going in to this book I didn't know there was a lesbian character! Hooray for adult queer fiction! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Gun violence, Abortion, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and War

Moderate: Racism

sebreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Drug use and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abortion and Xenophobia

whatskatiereading's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This story unfolds in Beirut, Damascus, and the United States bouncing between the 1980s and present day. Idris, Manza, and their three adult children (Ava, Mimi, and Naj) are brought together by Idris’ desire to sell his childhood home in Beirut. With the family coming together, we learn about them as individuals and about their relationships to one another. Like any family, they have their secrets that we slowly learn about throughout the book. The large majority of the book takes place in the past, showing the events that led Manza and Idris to move to California. While this book is a work of fiction, the backdrop of Syria and Lebanon in the 1980s creates a story that seems very real. The historical nature of this book was very insightful. The author managed to pack a lot of history and insights into an incredible story. 

As someone who prefers shorter books, this one was on the longer side for me (440 pages). Longer books tend to intimidate me, or I find myself zoning out during parts that I don’t find interesting. Alyan’s writing had me invested from the beginning and there was not one page that had me losing interest. This beautiful family saga tapped into so many emotions, it’s hard to sum it all up. As a music lover I really enjoyed Naj and Mimi’s storylines, though Manza is hands down my favorite character. I really hope this book gets a lot of buzz this year because I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Thank you BookishFirst and HMH for my copy of The Arsonists’ City! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Sexual content