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michaelion's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
No, I am not Palestinian. No, I am not from New York nor have I ever been. No, I am not a mother. No, I am not married. No, I have never been a teacher. No, I am not the eldest daughter, nor do I have siblings.
BUT SHE JUST LIKE ME FR !!!!!! I LOVE HER SHE IS ME. ETAF RUM YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS. Perfect writing. Perfect exploration of culture and family. I don't have the words to express how moved I was. Am! She just like me fr !!!!!
BUT SHE JUST LIKE ME FR !!!!!! I LOVE HER SHE IS ME. ETAF RUM YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS. Perfect writing. Perfect exploration of culture and family. I don't have the words to express how moved I was. Am! She just like me fr !!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Physical abuse, Grief, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
Minor: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry
readingwithtemperance's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
Evil Eye's main focus is generational trauma. How it seeps into every nook and cranny of our lives. And how breaking the cycle can be excruciating but so freeing at the same time.
The therapy sessions/journal entries were so personal. My heart ached for Yara so much. I loved watching her finally be able to begin to heal and find out who she truly is/what she wants out of her life.
Etaf Rum's writing is so engaging. Every time I stopped reading I just wanted to jump back in. I would love to read more from her in the future!
The therapy sessions/journal entries were so personal. My heart ached for Yara so much. I loved watching her finally be able to begin to heal and find out who she truly is/what she wants out of her life.
Etaf Rum's writing is so engaging. Every time I stopped reading I just wanted to jump back in. I would love to read more from her in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Toxic relationship, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent
looneytunes's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Racism and Islamophobia
letsgolesbians's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Physical abuse
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
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
4.5
I Listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did an amazing job! I loved this maybe even more than Rumโs first book๐ฉต I canโt wait to see what she writes next!
Evil Eye is told through the POV of Yara, our MC, both in the present but also sometimes switches to her journal entries reflecting on/flashing back to her childhood and relationship with her family. The flashbacks also share stories of Yara visiting Palestine and her grandparents experience in refugee camps following the Nakba.
I enjoyed getting to learn more about Palestine and Palestinian culture. The food descriptions and imagery as a whole was very well written! I also enjoyed the discussions on white feminism and the idea of โsaving Arab women.โ The character development and getting to know Yara, as well as the side characters, was incredible. I really felt like I got to know everyone in this novel!
The novel was very insightful, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking novel. Giving readers a complex look at facing childhood trauma, marriage, mother-daughter relationships. and finding your voice. I highly recommend Evil Eye, especially if you love complex characters and deeply emotional/moving stories!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, Islamophobia, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts
kdsmoove's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.5
๐๐ช๐ต๐๐ช๐ค โข ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข โข โฃ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ โข ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค
"๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ."
Evil Eye is LitFic at its finest: it feels so real that it could be true, it could be someone's memoir, maybe someone close to you, maybe even yours, or mine. Every child of immigrants, every mother, every woman, anyone in any marginalized group, can find something relatable within these pages. Addressing Palestinian history, generational trauma, gender expectations and inequities, mental health and stigmas, shame and grief and guilt, Arab stereotypes, and lots of other tough topics, this is also a story of empowerment and how to heal.
Then there is the mouth-watering food. In fact, the only thing that Yara's husband Fadi and I see eye-to-eye on is her cooking: a gastronomic explosion of flavors. You will smell the aroma and taste the spices as you read. In fact I'm hungry now.
And Silas. ๐ฅน
There is also art and creating and Frida Kahlo. There's instagram versus reality and what it means to live an authentic life. There's the isolation of not fitting the mold, not fitting in. How to live a life true to yourself and not what someone else wants for you. How to see that you don't need to be fixed because you're not broken.
"๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ."
Evil Eye is LitFic at its finest: it feels so real that it could be true, it could be someone's memoir, maybe someone close to you, maybe even yours, or mine. Every child of immigrants, every mother, every woman, anyone in any marginalized group, can find something relatable within these pages. Addressing Palestinian history, generational trauma, gender expectations and inequities, mental health and stigmas, shame and grief and guilt, Arab stereotypes, and lots of other tough topics, this is also a story of empowerment and how to heal.
Then there is the mouth-watering food. In fact, the only thing that Yara's husband Fadi and I see eye-to-eye on is her cooking: a gastronomic explosion of flavors. You will smell the aroma and taste the spices as you read. In fact I'm hungry now.
And Silas. ๐ฅน
There is also art and creating and Frida Kahlo. There's instagram versus reality and what it means to live an authentic life. There's the isolation of not fitting the mold, not fitting in. How to live a life true to yourself and not what someone else wants for you. How to see that you don't need to be fixed because you're not broken.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Racism, Cursing, Misogyny, War, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Islamophobia
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
Evil Eye is a profound story about family, trauma and healing. We follow Yara, a Palestinian-American woman as she confronts her childhood and the idea that she may be cursed by it, the same thing that plagued her mother. With this heartbreaking metaphor for mental illness and generational trauma, this book explores how someone can be impacted by these things but not defined by them.
I thought the format of the story was really interesting too using the journal entries to show her cherished memories of her grandmother in Palestine alongside the scenes of her traumatic childhood. Every one of her journal entries helped me to understand her character a little more and how deeply the abuse her mother faced impacted both of them.
I listened to the audiobook version and it was moving and immersive, I felt like I was in Yaraโs head. Even though I donโt share her particular situation, I related so much to her anxiety and the strained relationship she had with her mother. The writing is beautiful and resonant, and you really get to see Yara as she fully is, a person with flaws yes, but also someone with wishes and dreams no matter what anyone else wants from her.
I really enjoyed seeing her go through the healing process and begin to question how her past formed who she is and if sheโs really content with the stagnant marriage she is in.
Watching her really accept that she needed help and actively try to heal was really impactful to me. It made me really happy when she started to realized that she deserved more than this marriage and that she wanted better than Fadi.
Throughout the book, my heart broke for her every time she ended up in a fight with Fadi. While on the surface he seems like the ideal husband supporting his family, the cultural and familial expectations really weigh on him and you can see how it affects him through how he treats Yara. While he wasnโt physically abusive, he was so frustrating because he never made an effort to understand her and dismissed her emotional needs. He was so stuck in his perception of what life is supposed to be like that any attempt by Yara to question it made him defensive and condescending, as if Yara didnโt understand the โreal world.โ In this way, we get to see how the patriarchy impacts everyone and no one is free while under this system.
This book definitely made me more aware of my own anxieties and feelings, and made me think about my own relationship with my mother. It also really made me think about how patriarchal systems affect everyone. Particularly how distant and misunderstood women may feel having to do all this emotional and physical labor as wives and mothers and being told their dreams are foolish and unattainable. Evil Eye is such a poignant book and everyone should read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Islamophobia and Racism
hdennis799's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism