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merenr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Exquisite book that is currently in my runnings for best read of the year (so far). Abulhawa captures multiple worlds with feeling and gorgeous prose that leaves my eyes watering or downpouring. It is rare that I read a book and cry at both happy and sad parts.
Abulhawa offers priceless insight into why people keep going, despite the suffering of the "Loveless World." After hearing this book lived in her head for twenty years, I treat its pages as a reassurance to my twenty-year-old self and beyond.
I must acknowledge that the real life stories of Palestinians and the Diaspora may not experience as much luck as Nahr, though I hate to call it that (that Bilal is still alive and she is able to reunite with her family and friend); this makes reading the ending ever more like a lingering aftertaste of sorrow and pain for all those in real life who are displaced, martyred, and living with severe trauma every day because of white supremacy, settler colonialism, Zionism, racism, etc. First of all, I hope people already regard Black and Brown lives as indispensable and infinitely precious, but if they don't, I hope they can pick up a book like this one, make a new friend, do the work, and become an accomplice to liberation.
Abulhawa offers priceless insight into why people keep going, despite the suffering of the "Loveless World." After hearing this book lived in her head for twenty years, I treat its pages as a reassurance to my twenty-year-old self and beyond.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, War, Homophobia, and Abortion
tsoutham's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
This is an incredibly sad story of a woman in solitary confinement and yet it was one of the best books I've read in a while. It's believable and shines light on the atrocities being committed by Israelis in Palestine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Rape, and Violence
sophierachel's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very important read in the context of today. I felt saddened to read some parts as the situations for Palestinians is still the same and even worse. Please read this and let it take you to dark thoughts for a bit, knowing it’s 24/7 for Palestinians in Gaza and the Westbank today.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and War
clairevlinney's review against another edition
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, War, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Racism, Police brutality, and Genocide
crawforl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Abortion, Sexual violence, Sexual content, War, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, and Racism
tatooinesunrise's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A harrowing but such an incredibly important read that speaks volumes of the suffering but enduring beautiful spirit of Palestine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Xenophobia, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Rape, War, and Confinement
elviraqc's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, War, Torture, and Gun violence
kbusemeyer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The Cube chapters were probably my favorite part of the book. I think because there’s so little to work with in the cube, the descriptions and adaptations Yaqoot makes for herself to pass time is really interesting (like Attar or how she still tries to find ways to be defiant).
I think this is a really shocking book to go into blind because the first sections are just heartbreaking with SA all over the place. And that set me up to think that every single section was going to be like that, which while it had their own conflict, didn’t feel anything like that caliber.
I think seeing Yaqoot get more involved with the resistance and also just how she develops the connection with Palenstine that she never really had at the beginning since she grew up in Kuwait, is really touching. I almost kind of hated the ending though with the fact that Bilal and Yaqoot (open for interpretation) reunite while Jumama was tortured and taped and Ghassan died. Obviously they went through so much of their own trauma, but it feels like as close to an HEA as this book would get.
After the first section, I found some of the writing starting to feel not great to me. Or maybe it’s more that the author chose to expand more on certain things while glossing over other parts in order to get to the next point she wanted to say, but also leaving in random extraneous details. The relationship with Bilal’s mom never felt that connection until much later because we only get told “oh they tended the garden together” and somehow we were supposed to believe that Yaqoot sees her husband’s mom, that she’s there to divorce, as another mother. Meanwhile a detail about the mom leaving from the wedding is kept in for, seemingly, no reason.
There were definitely parts that I enjoyed more than others - the olive grove scenes and the initial dates with Bilal, but sometimes I found it hard to read with all the telling and not showing. I think it’s a really good look at how things were (and are) and especially the view they have of America vs Saddam, etc. super interesting and obviously different than we are told.
I think this is a really shocking book to go into blind because the first sections are just heartbreaking with SA all over the place. And that set me up to think that every single section was going to be like that, which while it had their own conflict, didn’t feel anything like that caliber.
After the first section, I found some of the writing starting to feel not great to me. Or maybe it’s more that the author chose to expand more on certain things while glossing over other parts in order to get to the next point she wanted to say, but also leaving in random extraneous details. The relationship with Bilal’s mom never felt that connection until much later because we only get told “oh they tended the garden together” and somehow we were supposed to believe that Yaqoot sees her husband’s mom, that she’s there to divorce, as another mother. Meanwhile a detail about the mom leaving from the wedding is kept in for, seemingly, no reason.
There were definitely parts that I enjoyed more than others - the olive grove scenes and the initial dates with Bilal, but sometimes I found it hard to read with all the telling and not showing. I think it’s a really good look at how things were (and are) and especially the view they have of America vs Saddam, etc. super interesting and obviously different than we are told.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, War, and Rape
Minor: Torture
lizziaha's review against another edition
4.25
This is a story that spans years, and yet feels like only a very small part of the overall story. It reads like a memoir, and I honestly had a hard time reading it. It was hard to wrestle with how my opinions and pre-conceived notions occasionally differed from Nahr’s. And it was difficult to witness such human suffering. My brain kept trying to negate the seriousness of the events of this book because they are fictional, so I had to keep reminding myself to Palestinians face this and more at the hands of Israel. It made reading this book a very involved process for me. Which is why I think it is a book that is essential to the canon, and should be read and studied more widely. The characters all felt very complex and flawed, and abulhawa gave them space for that. There were some moments of real beauty and lyricism in the written word. Particularly in depictions of the Palestinian culture and people. From the river to the sea 🇵🇸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Deportation, Grief, Rape, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, War, Racism, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Islamophobia, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Ableism
Minor: Antisemitism, Bullying, Cancer, and Death of parent
ddnreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
My heart ache for Nahr and Bilal 🥺🥺
But this book is much more than the love story of Nahr and Bilal (eventhough their love is extraordinarily tender and healing).
Unputdownable and sharp, Against the Loveless World told a life of a woman who tried to find her way among the generational trauma of colonialism, refugee, and occupation.
I love how the characters are flawed. How bare and jarring they told their lives. I love the raw honesty, the swearing, the curses.
This is a feminist book in its own way.
I wept for the love mothers share. Their toughness through the worst of conditions. They're the real world's strongest soldiers.
But this book is much more than the love story of Nahr and Bilal (eventhough their love is extraordinarily tender and healing).
Unputdownable and sharp, Against the Loveless World told a life of a woman who tried to find her way among the generational trauma of colonialism, refugee, and occupation.
I love how the characters are flawed. How bare and jarring they told their lives. I love the raw honesty, the swearing, the curses.
This is a feminist book in its own way.
I wept for the love mothers share. Their toughness through the worst of conditions. They're the real world's strongest soldiers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Grief, Cursing, War, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, Genocide, Islamophobia, and Misogyny