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mja002's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
bougies_et_etoiles's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, jarring, disturbing, evocative: it took forever to read but worth every second
mattgroot1980's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
catarina_mendes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
serendipitysbooks'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? Yes
4.0
Beirut Blues is an epistolary novel looking at the impact of the civil war in Lebanon . It unfolds via ten lengthy letters from the protagonist Asma. Some were written to friends, family, and former lovers. Others, presumably never posted but written more as a form of journaling, were to figures as diverse as Billie Holliday and Jill Morrell, girlfriend of a British journalist held hostage during Lebanon’s civil war, and to Beirut itself. Many focus on her struggling with the decision of whether of not to flee Lebanon, looking at what the war had taken from her and what would be lost and gained by moving elsewhere. Normally I enjoy epistolary novels but for some reason this didn’t work for me. Possibly because the letters were a one-way street and there was none of the interaction I enjoy when you read both the letters sent and received. I also found the tone introspective, detached and dispassionate. The book felt flat and I never never felt a connection to Asma and her plight.
krisz's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really remember this, only that I wasn't impressed.
aseel_reads's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really hate stream of consciousness, and it is only marginally better in letter form, so this book was definitely not for me. I liked the middle letters because I knew the characters and the ending was full circle but I just won't like or care about the MC and the whole thing was hard to get through
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Rape
kdrmbroms's review
2.0
Unusual book - fictional "memoir" of a group of upper class Lebanese Muslim/Palestinian intellectuals who individually chose different paths during the conflicts of the late '60's to '90's. Most chose to leave, few (including the narrator) chose to stay. The book is written as a series of letters to both human and inatimate players in the great tragedy of the demise of Beirut in particular. Somewhat difficult to follow, certainly difficult to empathize with the protaganist.
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