Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

49 reviews

sameenj's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, and Violence

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

holmahoney's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Colonisation, Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Genocide, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Cancer, Islamophobia, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Torture, and Physical abuse

sarah_js's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This book forced me to reexamine what I think and understand about Palestinian identity, marginalization, and resistance. A beautiful exploration of Palestinian and Arab culture, language, and landscape. A heartbreaking mirror of Israel’s ongoing occupation and genocide. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Abortion, and Miscarriage

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

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

nitsuma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Rape, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Racism, and Sexual violence

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

jiimjam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

This is a great story with beautiful deep characters. Everyone has flaws but they care so much for each other and work out issues. 

Being an American on the other side of the world, I am far away from the issues discussed in this book, it can feel like another world entirely. Though this is a fictional story, there are very real stories of people who have experienced the torture, heartache, and displacement from their homes and families that are spoken of in this book. It was an eye-opening read and part of a personal journey to listen to different voices. 

Quotes

"When powerless, following world events only highlights your impotence."

 "What’s it like to be a whale? To live in water. To be the biggest creature on earth, still vulnerable to a small man’s greed."

"...cruelty always has a dick."

"...happiness can reach such depths that it becomes something akin to grief."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, War, Colonisation, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Death, Rape, and Grief