Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

80 reviews

kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Colonisation, Misogyny, Confinement, Genocide, Police brutality, Grief, and Rape

lizziaha's review

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 🇵🇸

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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. 

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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

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Abortion, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Rape, War, Confinement, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Homophobia, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Grief, Sexism, Torture, and Racism

shieldbearer's review

This book was beautifully written but it didn't grab me the way "Mornings in Jenin" did. There is a lot of heavy, nuanced plotting here, but there are also several ways the plotting falls short, When looked at as a work of fiction, this simply does not do it for me. Part of it is that I can't get invested in the romance. A similar work that I preferred a lot is "Minor Detail"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Classism, Islamophobia, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Cursing, Sexual violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Infidelity, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Deportation, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Infertility, Abortion, Antisemitism, Outing, and Pregnancy

mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

was hooked immediately!! i was doubtful if i would like it looking at the first page but it had an intriguing start with the MC which told me this character was going to be interesting. i loved how easy, smooth, and digestible it was to read - these are my favorites. i finished in 2 days, was reading until i couldn’t stay awake anymore. i would love a second book that continued the story but now i see why it’s not necessary as the ending showed the reality of her life.

touches on the occupation, resistance, romance, friendship, family, patriarchy, grief, and, undoubtedly, much more. had some really great quotes. learned more about the occupation of Palestine. 

i loved how bold the MC was and the life she lived. it made for a very interesting journey. idk why this is marked as slow-paced, it’s definitely medium and maybe even fast! (edit: submitted ticket to change to medium-paced) i found myself referring to the glossary often when needed, it’s interesting to learn. lots of stuff packed in made it worthwhile. 

the physical book format also helped in the smoothness - good page feel and font styling. love the cover too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, War, Colonisation, Murder, Sexual assault, Grief, Gun violence, Rape, Homophobia, Infidelity, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion

rachelfayreads's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Infertility, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Deportation, Confinement, Colonisation, Abortion, and Antisemitism

mona_liest's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Check TWs!
First part of this book was hard to read but in the end I was glad that I did finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, and Confinement

Moderate: Blood, Torture, and Police brutality

Minor: Vomit, War, Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Racial slurs

fernz's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. Heart wrenching yet there are so many moments of beauty, love and hope. The resilience of the Palestinian spirit is clear. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, and Rape

tahsintries's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Colonisation, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, War, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Confinement, Child death, Abortion, and Classism