Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Against the Loveless World

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

139 reviews

murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.75

Such a poignant, important story. Abulhawa’s characterisation and style is striking. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.

Content Warnings

emk5's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

merenr's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings