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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Horror!
dark
informative
sad
A chilling look into the experience of two women, decades apart, experiencing the brutal occupation of Palestine. The first half of the novel is told from the perspective of an Israeli general who leads a group of soldiers in their discovery, assault, and murder of a young women. He is poisoned, but not by guilt, shame, or horror of his own actions, rather the land which he works so hard to subjugate. The second half of the novel follows a young woman who becomes obsessed with the details of this specific crime, and sets out on a journey to understand more. In specific and minute detail the restrictions placed on Palestinians take living form, as she goes through the many terrifying steps of attempting to travel from one area of Palestine to another under Israeli scrutiny. She enters an almost fugue-like state attempting to make sense of decades of senseless violence, trying to uncover the fate of the one young girl she can focus on. The end of the novel is brutal in its simplicity and unfounded violence after a solemn yet uneventful journey from museum to museum.
informative
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I honestly don't know how to review it. I would just highly recommend everyone to read it. In just 120 pages, she perfectly portrays the horrors of living under occupation and how the past never stops to haunt us.
"Besides, sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific."
"Besides, sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific."
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a very timely read and offers a perspective of significance.
From a craft standpoint, I appreciated the smaller scenes and details that still held their weight semantically. Similarly, the author does an excellent job of showing not telling while still getting the message across strongly. The one point of craft I think falls flat was the frequent use of redundant and sequential sentences. For the first half of the book, I understand the choice, as it reflects the drawl of war and the stubbornness of the immorality. But for the second half, though I understand it to likely be a point of emphasis for certain details and another commentary on immorality, I don't think it was very effective. Often the points were emphasized enough already by the narrative. But I do acknowledge the intention behind a syntactical decision like this.
This story is uncomfortable to read, and it should be. It is haunting from start to end, and it left an impression on me I cannot ignore. It's symbolic simplicity was powerful. I will be thinking about this book constantly from now on. There's a lot of relevant conversation that should and does spring from this narrative.
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Colonisation, War