Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

48 reviews

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

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

vanessamariebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

Favorite of the year. Highly recommend, especially for bookclubs or High School English classes. My thoughts here: https://www.youtube.com/live/jHkbo3kEbbg?si=AQwDiPhqLPCpTQey

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, Death, Homophobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Violence

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Ableism, Dementia, and Outing

serendipitous_mess's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

An absolutely gripping story. Abulhawa is an artist with her words, and manages to capture a humanness in her characters that is heart-breaking.
I have nothing in common with the main character, and haven't been through even half of the tragedies she lives through, yet her feelings of displacement, her wish to find a balance between fighting for something she believes in, and her wish to have a small, quiet life, her finding the joy in nature, art and small human acts of kindness, her development of seeing the world in black and white to finding nuance and beauty in everything is so real.

the only downside is that i found the ending a little rushed. and how tragic it is that we cannot have a truly happy ending. Free Palestine ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Colonisation, War, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia

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

01ivia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Antisemitism, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Cancer

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

jeslis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Notes:
- Very intense but a masterpiece.
- Abulhawa slowly but powerfully builds such a vivid and touching setting and cast of characters throughout this book. I felt incredibly connected to the world as a whole and the sociopolitical context was set up without being difficult to follow.
- Loved being able to follow one character's story with her family/friends and to see how the world around them leaves its impact on their lives. How they adapt and persevere in spite of it.
- Made me appreciate just how important storytelling is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Torture

Minor: Homophobia

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

This book was so beautifully written. It was historical fiction that also felt so relevant to today. It helped me understand more about the Palestinian history and experience. Nahr's story is so raw and heartbreaking and her strength and resistance was moving. The author uses such powerful imagery and explores the complexities of people in creating characters with so much depth. Most of the time, making them neither good, nor bad, simple human. I will probably be thinking about this book for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Abortion, Colonisation, Torture, Xenophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Excrement, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Cancer