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4.57 AVERAGE
4.57 AVERAGE
It was heartbreaking and confronting. It did well to not sensationalise the events it spoke about. It gave me a really saddening, real look at how dislocated people struggle to belong anywhere in the world, even where they and their ancestors came from or where they’ve spent most their lives.
I don’t have any critiscims about the story itself. The pacing was good but the grammar and writing style felt a little immature in parts and then amazing in others which changed my opinion of the book several times throughout. I found the second half much more consistant and that kept me far more engaged.
I don’t have any critiscims about the story itself. The pacing was good but the grammar and writing style felt a little immature in parts and then amazing in others which changed my opinion of the book several times throughout. I found the second half much more consistant and that kept me far more engaged.
“The continuity of these traditions helped bridge the spaces between dislocation and the home I had forged in my birthright homeland, but I knew I could never again be complete in one place. This was what it meant to be exiled and disinherited—to straddle closed borders, never whole anywhere. To remain in one place meant tearing one's limbs from another.”
“This was where I belonged, but so much of me was still scattered elsewhere.”
“This was where I belonged, but so much of me was still scattered elsewhere.”
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Everything about this book was beautiful - it moved me in so many ways that I wish I could describe in one word, but that would not do the writing justice. I think of the words “despite, despite, despite” all over again when I reflect on all the protagonists endure as they continue to fight for their liberation. This is a very real telling of what love and loss is like under an occupation, and I will cherish it forever.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This might have been the most difficult book I've read all year. It follows Nahr, a Palestinian, all the way from her growing up in Kuwait as a child of refugess to becoming a resistance fighter in Palestine to sitting in an Israeli prison cell. It's extremely graphic at times. And by that I mean it has five or six detailed descriptions of sexual assault and rape in the first part alone. It's graphic in its description of general violence too. But the sexual violence sure is a lot. I was really close to not finishing it very early on because of that. I'm glad I didn't because it's beautifully written and paced and develops in such a good way. That's most of what made me give it 4 stars. There's some points that made me raise my eyebrows but not knowing enough of the personal views of the author I can't say whether that was just Nahr being a flawed narrator or if we were supposed to be on board with all that, but yeah, overall pretty greatly written, emotional story. I still wouldn't recommend this to anyone, though, because it is a lot to stomach
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
This is such a beautiful book. It is such a privilege to enjoy and reflect on the narrative of this book in the safety of my own home whilst the colonial project still continues in real time past Susan Abulhawa’s depiction of Nahr & Bilal’s experiences in the early 2000’s. It is a beautiful story of love and hope in a time of such inhumane loss and devastation, making it an incredibly chilling and reflective read.
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes