Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

39 reviews

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

carissa230's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? No

5.0

Nahr is locked up in solitary confinement. There is nothing to do so she reflects on her life and how she ended up where she was in life. 

Born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugees she dreams of the day she will meet the man that she will marry, settle down, and make a family. She marries the man she thinks is of her dreams, but it is not to be. It's pretty clear she is not the gender he prefers. He leaves in the middle of the night and she is left penniless and jobless. 

Nahr meets a woman that "helps women". Turns out she helps them to sell their bodies to men in order to make them all money. That is how Nahr finds herself making money for herself and her family. 

Nahr can't live this lifestyle for long. Her family is forced to flee Kuwait and she joins the resistance. She finally finds the love she always wanted, but as we already know she's in prison so it's not happily ever after. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, War, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

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

aschmitttyy's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This one was hard for me to get through. I felt connected to the characters and I wanted to see what happened to them, but there were so many different parts to the story that I feel like I lost some of that emotion.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Colonisation, and Sexual content

Minor: Grief, Abortion, Deportation, and War

malin_banalin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Spännande och rörande. Det händer så mycket i boken, känns som en hel livstid man får gå igenom och det är det ju typ också! Frihet och förtryck. Tycker om titeln (som framgår i boken är från en text av James Baldwin) och det poetiska i Abulhawas sätt att skriva. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Torture

brynalexa's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

A powerful journey. Perfectly paced and gripping. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Deportation, Drug use, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Addiction, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Vomit, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, and Hate crime

Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, Fatphobia, and Dementia

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

havdic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Rape, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, War, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Genocide

raisinreads's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Violence